Newfoundland and Labrador pumps another $60K to promote floundering seal industry

Newfoundland and Labrador is giving $60,000 to a sealing group in the latest bid to sustain an industry viewed with distaste in much of the world.

The Canadian Press reports the provincial government is handing over the money to the Seals and Sealing Network to lead an awareness campaign as the market for the products shrinks rapidly.

Fisheries Minister Keith Hutchings said Tuesday the program aims to combat misconceptions about the industry, which has been condemned for decades by animal-rights groups that view the annual seal hunt as cruel.

Hutchings said it's important to support the commercial seal hunt now as the federal government appeals a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that upheld the European Union's ban on seal products from Canada.

[ Related: Canada’s appeal of WTO ruling on seal product ban is an exercise in futility ]

The Seals and Sealing Network says a poll it commissioned shows most Canadians support the seal hunt and object to the WTO's decision to uphold the EU ban. Still, it's hard to escape the feeling that funnelling more taxpayer dollars to raise awareness and fight misconceptions is throwing good money after bad.

It seems pretty clear that in the propaganda war over the contentious seal hunt, the anti forces have largely won – certainly internationally. Steadfast attempts by federal and provincial representatives have failed to counter the heart-tugging images of bloody seal corpses being dragged across the ice.

There may be pockets of support for the industry, such as celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain's lobbying against a boycott of Canadian seafood products because of the hunt.

Arguments that the hunt is an important part of Newfoundland culture and a still-important source of income for fishermen, that it's humanely conducted, that it's sustainable and a necessary tool to keep exploding seal populations from damaging the fishery, have fallen on deaf ears.

What impact can another $60,000 of government money have?

[ Related: Pamela Anderson gets cold shoulder in St. John's, N.L., over seal hunt ]

Not long ago, the Newfoundland and Labrador government funnelled $3.6 million in loans to the industry to keep a seal-processing company in operation.

But the fact is, markets for seal products continue to decline. Besides the EU, some three dozen countries have barred them, including the United States, Mexico, Taiwan and Russia, which once took up to 90 per cent of harp seal pelts.

Even mainland China, which was once seen as a potentially lucrative market for seal goods, has seen protests by local animal-rights activists.

It's clear that the sealing industry could not survive without sustained government financial support.

Whatever the righteousness of the sealers' position, is it time to pull the plug?