this is a paper i wrote today about the canidian seal hunt pleas feel free to critisize.
Canadian seal hunt
Earl Gregoire
The Canadian seal hunt has been going on since man first came to the north American continent. There has been a commercial seal hunt since the 1700s and is still going on today. The seal hunt was briefly stopped due to public pressure and a lack of seals from over harvesting. The hunt however has resumed with new regulations in place. I believe the seal hunt needs to continue for numerous reasons.
One of the biggest reasons the hunt needs to continues is that many fisherman make a large part of there yearly earnings seal hunting. The money that the seal hunt generates helps the small towns along the coast of Labrador, Newfoundland and the gulf of Saint Lawrence. The people that live in these small towns depend on a variety of work to keep living a rural life style which in turn helps others to live a urban life style. Sealing has become increasingly important due to the fallout of the cod fishery in Canada . Fisherman now depend more on seals than they ever have.
The population of harp seals is currently at over five million animals and has more than doubled in the last four decades. The annual harvest is regulated by the Canadian government which sets quotas on the number of seals that can be harvested and not have a negative impact on the population. The Canadian harp seal has never been on any reputable endangered species list and is one of the most populous marine mammals in the world.
Harp seals have many uses. Some of these uses include clothing, medicine, food and even machine oil. People often point out how some of the seal carcass is left on the ice. But when the ice melts the carcasses float to the bottom and become food for fish and crustaceans. Which in turn mean more food for seals.
People who oppose the seal hunt often do so because they believe it is cruel. This is completely not true. There are two main methods for seal dispatch. The main method for dispatching is to use a rife and shoot the seals this results in a quick painless death. The less commonly and more hotly debated method is the hakipic. The hakipic is basically a club which the sealers use to hit the seals with. The hakipic has been proven to be a efficient tool for hundreds of years. Recently the Canadian veterinary report has studied using the hakipic and found it to be very efficient and cause little to no pain from the animal. Many times the seals after being struck with a hakipic will go into a reflex swimming motion the same way chickens run around with there heads cut off.
Now I urge you to support the seal hunt by not listening to all the propaganda the animal rights groups put out. Also tell other people the truth about the seal hunt and urge them not to donate to groups who oppose it. Weather it be for food, medicine, or clothing the seal hunt is necessary and this is why I believe is should continue.
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I used to be a hunter that trapped. Now i am a trapper that hunts.
