Seal slaughter starts out of public view in Canada

By ANDREW BUNCOMBE

The biggest seal slaughter for more than half a century was to start overnight in Newfoundland out of public view after Canadian authorities allegedly refused to co-operate with animal rights activists wishing to document the slaughter.

Campaigners estimate that in two days this week, more than 140,000 baby harp seals will be either clubbed or shot to death by 3500 fisherman in a hunt that has been driven by an increased worldwide demand for seal pelt products.

This year's seal hunt, in which 350,000 animals will be killed, has created the sort of international controversy last seen two decades ago when a global outcry against the slaughter effectively ended the seal skin market.

Celebrities such as French film star Brigitte Bardot led the campaign, which alleged that baby seals were often skinned alive by hunters.

The Canadian federal authorities say new regulations mean that white-furred seals not yet weaned from their mothers are no longer killed and that the animals are treated in a more humane way.

They also say that the seal population is such that it can tolerate such a high quota of animals to be killed.

But campaigners say the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), which oversees the hunt off the Newfoundland coast, is doing everything it can to ensure that the public does not witness the hunt.

Rebecca Aldworth, a campaigner with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said it had applied to the DFO for the necessary permits but that the department had not been forthcoming.

"We had a lot of people who wanted to come and see this," she said, "but the DFO says you must have a permit to go on the ice.

"We called them last Thursday but they did not return our calls. The office will not be open again until Tuesday and then there is a two-day wait for the permits. By then the vast majority of the hunt will be over."

She added: "I think it is very deliberate. Our point is that if you go out and see for yourself there is no way you could come back and support the hunt."

The hunt in eastern Canada traditionally takes place in two phases, the first in the Gulf of St Lawrence which finished 10 days ago and the second, bigger hunt that takes place on the so-called "front" up to 160km off the Newfoundland coast.

The fishermen who participate in the hunt say the seal pelts bring a much-needed boost to their incomes at a time of year when finances have run low.

Campaigners say few fishermen will earn more than a few hundred dollars from the hunt.

Sensitive to the power of the graphic images used by the activists, the Canadian Government has accused campaigners of deliberately misleading the public.

After several groups including the Humane Society of the United States took out full-page newspaper adverts with the message "O Canada. How Could you ... Again?", the Canadian Minister of Natural Resources, John Efford, said the activists were trying to harm the welfare of the fishermen.

"It's not misleading, it's absolutely wrong," Efford, a former Newfoundland fisherman, told the Globe and Mail newspaper. "It can't be any more wrong to say we're killing baby seals when we're not."

Seal hunt

* Last year Canada increased quotas, allowing a million seals to be killed over the next three years.

* Up to 350,000 baby harp seals are to be killed in this year's "cull".

* About 3500 men and 150 trawlers are involved.

* The killing of "whitecoat" seals - aged up to 12 days - is banned.

* Most seals are now shot, not clubbed.

- INDEPENDENT