IFAW: Eyewitness films the cruel reality of Canada’s seal pup hunt

In her daily blog following the hunt, eyewitness Sheryl Fink, Director of IFAW’s Seal Program reports, “we watched the sealing vessel Makin Waves bear down on two pups, one that had been shot, the other that was still very much alive and looking around.

We expected the pups to be crushed under the hull. Then we watched in horror as one of the men on the boat reached down and jabbed the live pup with his long handled gaff. The frightened pup whirled and snapped at the gaff, trying to bite at it in self defense. But she didn’t stand a chance. With another swing, the sealer slammed the steel hook into the little pup’s face, and lifted her up into the boat. There was absolutely no question as to what we were seeing: here was a live, conscious, seal pup being brutally hooked through her eye socket and lifted into a boat.”

“The humane killing rules are not being followed,” said Fink, adding “As a consequence, we also filmed the horror of a live seal pup being sliced down the belly while likely still conscious, and tossed ruthlessly in the bottom of a boat. For several minutes, the pup makes what appear to be directed, conscious flipper waving and clenching movements as bodies of other seals are piled on top of it.”

“Where is the enforcement? Where is the monitoring?” demanded Fink, “When sealers flagrantly ignore the regulations when they are being filmed, I shudder to imagine what happens when no one is watching.”

The Canadian government insists that the hunt is both humane and vital to the economy of local communities. IFAW repeatedly documents cases like these that clearly demonstrate that the commercial seal hunt is not humane and that the rules are frequently ignored. The group also points out that this year sealers are replacing seal hunting with more lucrative crab fishing, which demonstrates that the seal hunt industry can be easily replaced.

“There is absolutely no reason for this slaughter to continue,” said IFAW UK Director, Robbie Marsland. “There is no money to be made, and one sealer was quoted as saying the hunt is now being conducted simply for ‘sport’. The Government of Canada should admit that the seal hunt is cruel, that it is unnecessary, and they should end it immediately. What we have observed so far this year is simply unacceptable – there is no more room for excuses.”

In addition to the fact that the commercial seal hunt is cruel and inhumane, it is also a waste of Canadian taxpayers’ money. The landed value of the 2010 commercial seal hunt was just over $1 million in 2010, yet the Canadian government spent an estimated $2.3 million to support it.

Ends

Editors: Still images and broadcast quality video b-roll related to Canada’s commercial seal hunt are available and seal hunt observers are available for media interviews.

– Images and video will be delivered via www.ifawimages.com as they are obtained.

– Journalists can register to access 2011 commercial seal hunt visual assets at:

Stills: www.ifawimages.com

Video:

action=6&forwardAction=%2FSets.do%3Faction%3D26%26setInfo%3D1144802%7E0%7E”>www.ifawimages.com

Sheryl Fink’s blog: blog.ifaw.org

For further information please contact IFAW UK:

Kevin Flack, 020 7587 6710 or mobile 07769 657291 or email kflack@ifaw.org
or
Josey Sharrad, 020 7587 6728 or mobile 07717 692099 or email jsharrad@ifaw.org

Or to schedule interviews with eyewitness Sheryl Fink in Canada, please contact:

Michelle Cliffe, IFAW Global Communications Lead, Seals
Telephone: +1 508 344 1300
E-mail: mcliffe@ifaw.org
Twitter: @MichelleCliffe or @IFAWCanada

About IFAW

IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) was established in 1969 and its founding campaign was in opposition to Canada’s commercial seal hunt. IFAW has more than 40 years of experience raising awareness, documenting and opposing the cruel commercial hunts for seals in Canada and around the world.