Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Defends Canada's Annual Seal Hunt
In New York on September 25, 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper defended the annual seal hunt, saying it is "dedicated today to humane and regulated practices."
"The seal population is exploding in Canada - it's not an endangered species by any means," he said after a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Mr. Harper called the hunt "a small industry of animal husbandry."
"There is no reason to discriminate against it any more than any other industry of animal husbandry," he said. "We will not be bullied or blackmailed into forcing people out of that industry who depend on the livelihood based on things that are simply on stories and on allegations that are simply not true."
For more information visit: Commission throws out complaint against seal hunt from The Globe and Mail
Prime Minister Stephen Harper went onto say that "Canada has not harvested Baby seal pups for 20 years."
FurCanada recognises that many animal rights groups use pictures of white seal pups for their own propaganda use, which implies that Canada still harvests them. This is simply not true.
CANADIAN WILDLIFE UPDATE - September 2007
We at Furcanada take wildlife sustainability very seriously. As conservationists, environmentalists, sportsman, and outdoor enthusiast we cherish the abundance of wildlife in our country and worldwide. We make business and environmental decisions based upon sound Canadian wildlife biologists' studies on wildlife management. We do not make business or environmental decisions based upon hysterical emotional reactions.
If we feel that one species is being singled out and over harvested, we would be the first ones to drop the product line from our list of species. Polar Bears are one item that we are watching very closely. We understand that their population is under considerable scrutiny. Currently the population numbers are on the increase in Canada. However, Polar Bear populations may be decreasing in other Polar Arctic Regions such as Russia, Norway and Greenland. Polar Bears are regulated by an International Agreement called CITES. If CITES decides to upgrade the level of protection from Appendix II to Appendix I we would re-evaluate its status in our product line. Nobody wants to see the Polar Bear population decimated. But at the same time, Canada should not be the only country to take full responsibility for Species protection.
Global Warming is a very serious threat. Global Warming is due to the burning of fossil fuels. Currently the biggest contributor of CO2 emissions is the USA, with China, Asia, and the European Union following. Citizens of these regions need to re-evaluate how they live. We ask you to please consider where your power comes from when you turn on that light switch or when you forget to turn it off. Does it come from coal fired power plants? If so, ask why? How much time do you spend on your computer, video games, television? Ask yourself where does the power come from to power these devices you use? Do you use a vehicle? If so, is that vehicle fuel efficient? If not, why not? Are you using public transit? If not, why not? These contributors of CO2 emissions do more damage and harm to the Arctic Region than any other factor with regards to sea ice melting and loss of habitat for our Canadian Polar Bear Populations.
Wildlife Sustainability
The following resources help to demonstrate the sustainability of wildlife in Canada. Wildlife management is key to the survival of all Wildlife in our fragile ecosystem. Wildlife requires vast tracks of land and water for it's habitat. Within that habitat is a limited supply of food within the food-chain. If for example Polar Bears, White Foxes, Arctic Wolves, Seals, Muskox, etc., become over populated, then the species succumbs to starvation or disease The population is then decimated to a low level, for which it can take decades to recover. Within this sustainability plan is man, we are at the top of the food chain. The Inuit people of Arctic Canada have inhabited the north for thousands of years. Their survival depends on the animals. The Inuit harvest these species for their own use, in clothing, food, carvings, and sell the excess skins, bones, skulls, ivory to Trading Companies such as Furcanada, the Co-op, The North West Company, tourists, southern residents etc.
The biggest threat to the survival of any species in the Arctic or anywhere in Canada is not from hunting, or trapping. It is from the Pollution of the factories in southern Canada, Coal Fired power plants that generate power for Southern Canada and the USA. Automobiles that belch out carbon monoxide to create greenhouse gases. Automobiles that kill millions of birds and wildlife annually on the highways and by-ways of North America Urban sprawl that decimates hundreds of hectares of habitat for wildlife. Raw Human sewage from the City of Victoria, British Columbia being pumped into the Harbour. These are just a few issues of today that confront society in Canada.
The Subsistence Economy (By Larry Simpson)
"Picture an Inuit hunter on the land or sea ice observing a caribou herd or a seal at a breathing hole. The hunter naturally relates their well-being to his own, both in the short term and in the longer term. Now picture a white-shirted man watching the big board at a stock exchange, forever aware of the impacts of such things as currency devaluations or commodity market fluctuations on the other side of the world, and the impact of these on his own fortunes. Are these realities opposites? Perhaps not. Can one participate in both worlds? Ideally, yes. The wired world is here to stay, but, hopefully, so too is the direct and sustainable relationship between Inuit and the natural world." [ Read More ]
Sealing in Nunavut: a Profile
"For thousands of years, seals have been a vital resource for survival in a very demanding environment. The seal is used for food, clothing, fuel, and arts and crafts. Very little is wasted. Seal harvesting has always been a central foundation of Inuit culture as it sustains traditional sharing customs, a special knowledge of the seal resource and its ecosystem, and the passing on of skills and values from elders to youth." [ Read More ]
Nunavut Premier Defends Seal Hunt As Way Of Life (CTV / Associated Press)
"A top Canadian Inuit official defended his country's seal hunt Monday, saying it was vital to the survival of aboriginal peoples in the Arctic and provided an economic lifeline for an area desperate for jobs and growth. Paul Okalik, premier of Canada's northern Nunavut territory, said the majority of the 30,000 people in his region were dependent on seals and other native species like polar bear and fish for their everyday food. 'This is our daily basic diet -- we can't grow potatoes.... It's something we require to continue to survive and its far more nutritious than what is imported from southern Canada,' Okalik told reporters." [ Read More ]
Nunavut Wary of Anti-Sealing
"People are
ignorant about the fact that the seal hunt is a way of life for northern
Canadians and is a part of their culture. All parts of the seal are used –
the fat, the meat, the bones, the skin. The way the seal are hunted and
used is not consistent across Canada. Many people don’t realize that the
ban not only affects the East coast seal hunters, but it will affect an
economy that sustains a way of life for many northern Canadians." [ Read More ]
Atlantic Canada Seal Hunt - Myths and Realities
" Myth #1: The Canadian government allows sealers to kill whitecoat seals.
Reality: The image of the whitecoat harp seal is used prominently
by seal hunt opponents. This image gives the false impression that
vulnerable seal pups are targeted by sealers during the commercial hunt. The hunting of harp seal pups (whitecoats) and hooded seal pups (bluebacks)
is illegal – and has been since 1987. Marine Mammal Regulations prohibit the trade, sale or barter of the fur of these pups. The seals that
are hunted are self-reliant, independent animals." [ Read More ]
Nunavut Joins Battle To Support Seal Hunt (CBC News)
"Nunavut has joined forces with Newfoundland and Labrador to fight those opposed to the seal hunt in Canada, following a meeting between government leaders in Iqaluit on Monday. Up until now, Nunavut has tried to maintain a distance between the Inuit traditional harvest of seals for food and the controversial commercial seal hunt on the East Coast. Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik says a proposed European seal ban affects the Inuit, who rely on the hunt to sustain and provide food for their families." [ Read More ]
Proposed German Seal Ban Misinformed, Nunavut Fisheries Director Says (CBC.CA)
"Germany's proposed ban on Canadian seal product imports stems from misinformation about the northern seal hunt, Nunavut's director of fisheries and sealing said Monday. Wayne Lynch, director of fisheries and sealing for the Nunavut government, was responding to news in February that German Agricultural Minister Horst Seehofer plans to introduce legislation banning seal product imports from Canada, out of concern that the hunt is unethical and inhumane. 'Canada in general is feeling the pressure, and so is my department, of course,' he said. 'The frustrating thing I see as a program delivery person is that the bans are based on misinformation and not really seeing the whole picture.' " [ Read More ] |
