April 10, 2012

Publication title: Thestar.com, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Kenyon Wallace

Sarah McLachlan asks Stephen Harper to end seal hunt

Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan has become the latest in a long line of celebrities to protest the commercial seal hunt by writing a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The letter, dated last Friday, was written on behalf of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and published on the organization’s website.

Accusing the government of defending the industry to hold onto seats in Newfoundland and Labrador, McLachlan argues the commercial hunt is dying thanks to Russia’s recent decision to join the European Union in banning imports of harp seal pelts.

She says this has made the industry “about as lucrative as an eight-track tape factory.”

McLachlan, a Halifax native, says the recent oil boom in Atlantic Canada has created a lucrative source of money for the provinces.

“It seems that the only reason why the federal government defends the dying seal-slaughter industry is to control the parliamentary swing seats in Newfoundland and Labrador,” the multiple Grammy- and Juno award winner writes.

“The sealers — like tobacco farmers and asbestos miners — need leaders to devise a practical exit strategy for them, not waste millions more in hopeless World Trade Organization challenges or paying to stockpile pelts when buyers already have seal pets going back several years.

“Won’t you lead the way?” she asks the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.

But in an email, Keith Ashfield, minister of fisheries and oceans, said his government is “unwavering” in its support for the thousands of coastal Canadians who depend on sealing for their livelihoods.

“Sealing makes an important contribution to the annual income of people living in rural and coastal communities where other economic opportunities are limited,” he said.

“The seal population is at historically high numbers and the hunt is a sustainable activity based on sound conservation principles. There are no conservation or commercial reasons to end Canada’s seal hunt and our government will not play politics with the livelihoods of Canadians.”

The seal hunt in the northern Gulf of the St. Lawrence opened Tuesday, while the main hunt off the east coast of Newfoundland, known as “the front,” begins Thursday. About 30 per cent of the allowable catch for harp seals occurs in the Gulf, with the remaining 70 per cent off the waters of Newfoundland. This year, the commercial quota set by the federal government is 400,000, the same as last year.

The northwest Atlantic harp seal population is an estimated 8 million, four times what it was in the 1970s, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Animal rights groups accuse hunters of inhumane practices, including skinning seals alive. Fisheries and Oceans says the fact that seals can twitch after death due to a “swimming reflex” may leave the impression that the mammals are not killed properly.

In 2010, the total value of fur skins sold to all markets was just over $6 million, down from $46 million just four years earlier.

This year, hunters can expect to receive $30 for a harp seal pelt, down from $105 that the pelts were selling for in 2006, said Rob Cahill, executive director of the Fur Institute of Canada.

Cahill said animal rights groups and celebrities have become fixated with seals, while other, less photogenic animals facing true threats to their existence go unnoticed.

“We have other species like salmon and cod that are living in the same environments that are ending up on the endangered species list. But are we seeing campaigns to stop restaurants from serving cod or salmon or to boycott your local grocery store?”