Canada's Annual Seal Hunt - Not Going So Good this Year!

[Shakey]

These folks are hoping the weather improves as there are numerous boats stuck in the ice.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=b68a93ad-7c55-4ec5-a8d9-996450614cd0

And from another article:

60,000 harp seal pups remain to be killed once weather conditions improve

Canada's controversial annual seal hunt can be over in as little as a day or two. It all depends on how quickly the sealers kill their quota of pups.

This year, the federal fisheries department lowered the quota of harp seals to be culled from last year's 335,000 to 270,000 because of poor ice conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where the hunt began April 9.

Seal pups survive on the ice until they learn to swim. Less ice means more of them drown.

About 30 per cent of the quota was taken in the Gulf. The hunt then moved northeast to "the Front," where it began last Friday. Bigger boats go out first and take their share of the seals, said Frank Pinhorn, executive director of the Canadian Sealers Association. It's these boats that became icebound as they returned home.

Pinhorn said about 60,000 seals remain to be hunted by the smaller boats that will go out once conditions improve.

[mikepmcs]

Boy, they sure do go through a lot just to kill a seal.

Are they worth that much money?  It's almost like those guys on "The deadliest catch"    Not worth it to me.

On another note, what do they do with the seal once they kill em'.

What is the controversy about anyway?  It isn't any different than me killing deer every year or moose or whatever.  I'm sure I could find this all out through google, but I'd rather see what people have to say here.

v/r
Mike

[Orange_Crush]

Boy, they sure do go through a lot just to kill a seal.

Are they worth that much money?  It's almost like those guys on "The deadliest catch"    Not worth it to me.

On another note, what do they do with the seal once they kill em'.

What is the controversy about anyway?  It isn't any different than me killing deer every year or moose or whatever.  I'm sure I could find this all out through google, but I'd rather see what people have to say here.

v/r
Mike

The controversy stems from three things.

1.  The seals killed are baby harp seals.

2.  The seals are killed by clubbing them on the head until they are dead.

3.  The seals are killed for their fur.

[mikepmcs]

Ok,

I don't know the difference between a harp seal or otherwise, but i'll do that research on my own.

As far as the club on the head deal, I guess there is a better way to hunt them and kill them.  Is that supposedly the sport of it vice shooting them? Does seem a little unnecessary to do it that way and way too time consuming if you are trying to gather as many as you can.

Guess i've never seen anything made out of seal fur.  I'll have to google that too to see what it looks like.

Is that all they are used for, can you eat them as well?  What do they do with the rest of the seal?

v/r
Mike

[Shakey]

Here are some answers.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/sealhunt/

[73dodge]

Boy, they sure do go through a lot just to kill a seal.

Are they worth that much money?  It's almost like those guys on "The deadliest catch"    Not worth it to me.

On another note, what do they do with the seal once they kill em'.

What is the controversy about anyway?  It isn't any different than me killing deer every year or moose or whatever.  I'm sure I could find this all out through google, but I'd rather see what people have to say here.

v/r
Mike

The controversy stems from three things.

1.  The seals killed are baby harp seals.

2.  The seals are killed by clubbing them on the head until they are dead.

3.  The seals are killed for their fur.

So why is that a problem?

Maybe they should use a rifle?

May they ought to just breed them in captivity and then kill them for the fur, isn't that what they do to get leather?

[Orange_Crush]

Boy, they sure do go through a lot just to kill a seal.

Are they worth that much money?  It's almost like those guys on "The deadliest catch"    Not worth it to me.

On another note, what do they do with the seal once they kill em'.

What is the controversy about anyway?  It isn't any different than me killing deer every year or moose or whatever.  I'm sure I could find this all out through google, but I'd rather see what people have to say here.

v/r
Mike

The controversy stems from three things.

1.  The seals killed are baby harp seals.

2.  The seals are killed by clubbing them on the head until they are dead.

3.  The seals are killed for their fur.

So why is that a problem?

Maybe they should use a rifle?

May they ought to just breed them in captivity and then kill them for the fur, isn't that what they do to get leather?

I was not making value judgements...I was merely answering a question.  I have my own opinion of seal hunting (and generally killing animals strictly for their fur) but if you want to get all the pros and cons, Google puts the world at your fingertips.

[mikepmcs]

Thanks Mike, I'll take a look and gain some education for sure.

OC, I did just take it as you answering the question, no worries there.  Everyone has there own views and I respect them all.  It's what makes the world go round.

I want this thread to stay civil for sure so it doesn't get the lock before I finish getting all the answers/opinions and get smarter on this.

I guess this is kind of in the realm of whale hunting???

v/r
Mike

[Vainglory, Esq.]

 .

[ck1]

Nobody whacks a deer or a elk over the head for me so I can eat it, make who ever wants the fur for coats and such buy a license and go up and do the dirty work them selves.............one seal pup per person.........might be overpopulated too because of polar bears not eatting them fast enough...........the seal might have a impact on the Salmon population to if its stopped even though cruel I'm sure a game management is on it so it don't get out of hand although it is cruel..............club might be cheaper then the over kill of shotting a animal point blank range thats not trying to get away or can't get away...........OK I couldn't do it just seems wrong, buy a dam wool coat

[Hondo66charger]

I'm thinking the club doesnt do as much damage to the fur as a bullet hole will ,along with powder residue upn the bullet entering the fur.just my thoughts on this

Duane

[Silver R/T]

someone's doing dirty job, what a pity

[RD]

maybe God is trying to tell them to go back home and not kill man eating baby harp seals this year, afterall, left alone, I am sure those man eaters have taken at least 100 lives last year......

Hell, if that is the case, we need to eradicate the lil bastages right? 

[71ChallengeHer]

Is this kinda like hunting puppies?  Where is the challenge?

[Ghoste]

They aren't looking for a challenge, just quick and cheap.  They sell the fur but they'll also tell you it's to keep the fish population up.  There aren't tons and tons of work choices in the region so both of these reasons are big deals to the people who live there.  The PETA crowd have made the seal hunt a poster child because the baby seals are so cute and cuddly.  Personally, I'm on the fence.
And just to dispel another Canada myth, there are no Polar Bears where the seal hunt takes place.  In fact, there are huge portions of the country without Polar Bears, Beavers, igloos or any of that other Nanook of the North stuff.

[Brock Samson]

  Nibbles seeks His revenge! 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/24/MNGJGPE9Q51.DTL&hw=seals&sn=001&sc=1000

   Excerpt from the article:

   "A rogue elephant seal nicknamed Nibbles has run rampant near the mouth of the Russian River in recent weeks, killing a dozen harbor seals, biting a surfer and jumping out of the water to attack a pit bull terrier on Easter.
One witness said the 2,500-pound male, who often lunges at his victims, is the most aggressive elephant seal he's ever seen.

"This bull does straight-out murder," said Keary Sorenson of Sebastopol, a former surfer who volunteers for government and nonprofit agencies in Sonoma County. "A week ago, I saw him chase down a female harbor seal, use chest blows to crush her, then bare his upper canine teeth and drive them down onto her head and back."

Warning signs have gone up on beaches near Jenner, and officials"

[Orange_Crush]

  Nibbles seeks His revenge! 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/24/MNGJGPE9Q51.DTL&hw=seals&sn=001&sc=1000

   Excerpt from the article:

   "A rogue elephant seal nicknamed Nibbles has run rampant near the mouth of the Russian River in recent weeks, killing a dozen harbor seals, biting a surfer and jumping out of the water to attack a pit bull terrier on Easter.
One witness said the 2,500-pound male, who often lunges at his victims, is the most aggressive elephant seal he's ever seen.

"This bull does straight-out murder," said Keary Sorenson of Sebastopol, a former surfer who volunteers for government and nonprofit agencies in Sonoma County. "A week ago, I saw him chase down a female harbor seal, use chest blows to crush her, then bare his upper canine teeth and drive them down onto her head and back."

Warning signs have gone up on beaches near Jenner, and officials"

http://www.devilducky.com/media/60463/

[skip68]

Score one for the beautiful Harp Seals!!!!  I hope those boats take on water and sink!!!

Boy, they sure do go through a lot just to kill a seal.

Are they worth that much money?  It's almost like those guys on "The deadliest catch"    Not worth it to me.

On another note, what do they do with the seal once they kill em'.

What is the controversy about anyway?  It isn't any different than me killing deer every year or moose or whatever.  I'm sure I could find this all out through google, but I'd rather see what people have to say here.

v/r
Mike

The controversy stems from three things.

1. The seals killed are baby harp seals.

2. The seals are killed by clubbing them on the head until they are dead.

3. The seals are killed for their fur.

SICK!!!!!! MRS.SKIP68

[Back N Black]

So, let me enlighten you a little on this subject, as i know first hand because my brother is owner and operator of one of the many boats that is left out there to be crushed by the ice. The seals are not clubbed,they are shot in the head and NO BABY seals are clubbed or shot period. The seal hunt is a supplementary income, they basically catch or in this case kill whatever is in season.These are the exact same boats that they use to catch crab,shrimp,lobster,herring etc. As for the comment "i hope those boats take on water and sink" my brothers boat did with 600 seals on board. So instead of a few extra bucks he is now out 800 hundred thousand that he paid for the boat.

[Vainglory, Esq.]

Sorry to hear about your brother's boat.  Maybe you can enlighten us as to what goes on with the seal hunts if they're not, in fact, clubbed.  How did that story get started?  And how did the story that they're baby seals get started?

[Shakey]

Sorry to hear about your brother's boat.  Maybe you can enlighten us as to what goes on with the seal hunts if they're not, in fact, clubbed.  How did that story get started?  And how did the story that they're baby seals get started?

There are some answers in the link in reply # 4.