Be a Part of Day of Action for the Seals on March 15
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The market for seal skin products has shrunk in recent years, but commercial seal hunts continue. March 15 is the day the international community comes together to try to stop the cruelty. It’s International Day of Action for the Seals.
Some also call the day International Day of Action Against Canadian Seal Slaughter or International Day of Action Against Canadian Seal Hunting.
Whatever you call it, the goal is the same: stop the cruelty visited on young seals every spring.
Canada is not the only country with seal hunting, but it does have the biggest hunt. So it’s usually the target of the day.
Although the official day is March 15 in most cases, various groups may hold protest events on other days. When the day falls during the week groups may move their observation to the weekend to make it easier for people to be a part of it.
The day is a protest against commercial hunting and its methods.
It is not intended to protest Inuit subsistence hunting. The Inuits use the whole seal. They eat seal meat and use the skins for clothing. And they hunt throughout the year as needed.
Commercial hunters on the other hand target young seals specifically. And they generally want only the fur. They kill hundreds of thousands of young seals within a few weeks and dump the carcasses after skinning them.
About the Seal Hunt
The targeted seals are less than three months old. Their mothers abandoned them when they were about 12 days old. So they’re defenseless against the hunters.
Supporters of the hunt point out that Canada has animal welfare standards. Sealers are supposed to follow these standards and kill the seals humanely. But in the frenzied activity of the hunt, it’s just not possible to make sure everyone is following the rules.
And as Andy Butterworth makes clear in this Nature article, the event is far from humane. Much of what he witnessed did not seem to comply with Canadian animal welfare standards.
Opponents of the hunt point out that the seals don’t necessarily die right away. They may suffer pain for many minutes before dying.
Seals may be shot or bludgeoned to death. Sometimes a combination of the two. Often sealers use a special club called a “hakapik.” These clubs have metal hooks on the end.
As with any hunt, the first shot doesn’t always kill the animal. Some wounded seals escape into the water. But they most likely die later, after much suffering.
Sealers are supposed to make sure the seals are unconscious before dragging them off the ice. And many do. But if the animal is on unstable ice and the sealer can’t safely check it, he can still hook it and drag it to the boat.
If the seal is conscious, it’s going to suffer during this process.
[…] International Day of Action for the Seals: The market for seal skins has shrunk over the years. Multiple countries have banned trade in seal skins. But for some reason hunts continue. This day is about raising awareness of this fact & working to stop it. […]