Seal Hunt in Atlantic Canada
Position
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) accepts the hunting of seals only if carried out in a humane and sustainable manner. (Specific recommendations are in the Background below). Notwithstanding the killing method, before the animal is dragged with a hook or is bled, the CVMA insists that the sealer must check by palpation that the skull is crushed to ensure that the animal is dead.
The CVMA believes that comprehensive enforcement of the Marine Mammal Regulations of the Fisheries Act is a necessary component of a humane hunt. The CVMA also supports ongoing monitoring of the hunt by independent observers to verify compliance with the appropriate use of killing methods.
The CVMA advocates mandatory training and licencing of sealers with regard to humane treatment of seals.
Background
Young harp seals, approximately 3-4 weeks old, account for 90% or more of the commercial catch in Canadian waters. These seals are weaned at about 12 days of age and have lost their newborn white fur (“whitecoats”) by the time they are hunted, although they continue to spend the majority of their time resting on ice floes. These animals have particularly thin skulls that can be completely crushed by one or a few strong blows with a hakapik (a long club). Therefore, the CVMA considers this a rapid, efficient, and humane means of killing young seals if conducted properly.
Specifically, the CVMA recommends that, when a hakapik is used, each seal should be hit with a minimum of three strong blows to its skull in order to ensure complete destruction of both cerebral hemispheres. When rifles are used, the CVMA supports the current Marine Mammal Regulations specifying the minimum velocity and energy of bullets that can be used in the hunt, as bullets meeting these specifications are more likely to kill an animal even if they do not directly hit its brain case, as compared to bullets of lower velocity and energy. Regardless of the killing method, the CVMA strongly asserts that the sealer must check by palpation that the skull is crushed to ensure that the animal is dead before it is dragged with a hook or is bled.
The CVMA opposes the shooting of seals in the water as this can result in an unacceptably high rate of loss of these animals at some times of the year (3). Also in some regions of the Atlantic coast, subsistence hunters rely on the use of nets set in water to catch and drown the animals. The CVMA opposes this method of hunting, as drowning is considered to be a protracted and, therefore, inhumane form of death.
The CVMA believes that harvest of seal populations must be done in a sustainable manner, using the principle of precautionary approach. The CVMA does not support an annual harvest of seals above the replacement yield for that population (defined as the number of animals that can be taken in a given year without reducing the total population in the next year) (4). Because the CVMA is concerned about the health and welfare of animal populations, as well as of individual animals, continued population studies are essential.
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