Seeing beyond the misinformation & Canadian ecological destruction:

Canada has a proven history of neglecting the environment & of ignoring valid scientific information. The Canadian government claims that a wild population of a species is healthy until the moment that harvesting is no longer profitable. It is only after the economical advantage of a hunt is lost and that the population is decimated that the government chooses to protect an endangered species.

Beluga Whales - In 1982 Canada left the IWC which is the International Whaling Commission. The Canadian government had been repeatedly warned about the unsustainability of whaling, yet the government neglected to stop this practice. 

As taken from the Government of Canada's website below are statistics about the 'harvest' of Beluga whales.

The total cumulative numbers of belugas caught for commercial purposes, uncorrected for sunk animals, were about:

• 9,000 in western Hudson Bay (1949-1970);

• 9,900 in eastern Hudson Bay (1752-1916);

• 14,500 in the St. Lawrence Estuary (1868-1960).

The current population of Belugas in the St Lawrence Estuary is approximately 1000 which is less than 10% of the original population prior to whaling. 1000 is far from a healthy population size, especially considering that Belugas are one of the most susceptible species to environmental pollution. Many whales have to be disposed of as toxic waste due to the high level of pesticide and chemical contamination.

The Hudson Bay area fared a little better, the current population there is estimated to be 25000. This still means that 50% of the population in this area was wiped out. 

The global Beluga population has been listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened species since 1994. Yet Canada still allows 800 Beluga whales to be harvested annually by aboriginals. This is why Canada is one of the few developed countries that is not a member of the IWC.

Clearly Canada has failed Beluga whales, but Belugas have been lucky compared to other whales.

Humpback Whales - 'These giants of the deep are slow swimmers—making them easy targets for whalers in the first half of the 20th century. They were killed by the thousands for their blubber. Now protected, humpback populations have grown to nearly 20,000 worldwide—about 20 percent of their original numbers. Roughly 2,000 live in the northern Pacific today. But the protections must be maintained to ensure the long-term survival of this majestic species.'

The above quote has been taken from the government of Canada's website.  What the government of Canada's website buries near the bottom of its page is that Humpbacks had been protected by the IWC since 1955, regardless of this the Canadian government continued to allow humpback whaling for an additional 10 years. This was 10 years after world opinion had indicated that the Humpback was endangered and should be protected at all cost. Whaling did not cease until 1965. The population was so low that it was not economically feasible to continue whaling this species.

Fin Whales - At least 7605 fin whales were taken by the province of British Columbia between 1908 and 1967.Fin whales dine primarily on Capelin Stock which is a fish species that crashed in the 1980s due to over fishing. On the eastern side of Canada the 'harvestable' population near Nova Scotia was 1600 animals in 1964.  In 1973 it was reported that only 325 members still survived in this area.

Before whaling the North Pacific Fin Whale population was estimated at 45000. By 1975 this number declined to 8000.The fin whale is now highly endangered and is protected under the Species at Risk Act (SARA)

Other Whales - The whales listed above are some of the healthiest in population. Blue Whales at one time numbered 200 000 in the worlds ocean. Canada helped to reduce this number to 6000. Canada also participated in the hunting of the Right Whale, Bowhead Whale, Gray Whale, Sei Whale, Minke Whale, Killer Whale (also known as Orca Whale) and other whales. Clearly the point has been made that Canada practiced whaling until it was impossible to continue doing so.

Polar Bears - The polar bear population is threatened by global warming. This is due to melting ice. Canada has refused to sign the Kyoto protocol which would commit them to lowering the emission of greenhouse gases. Polar bears also suffer from high levels of PCBs and other chemical pollution. Canada has refused to effectively monitor corporations and force them to reduce the level of pollution and chemicals that are released.

Canada sells up to 700 polar bear hunting licenses annually. These are sold to trophy hunters. The meat is not used. The sole purpose of the hunt is for a trophy, and this only serves the very wealthy and the Canadian government in collecting additional taxes. ( For more information concerning this please visit our sister website ( Stop Polar Bear Hunting )  The current polar bear population is estimated to be as low as 22 000 which classifies this species as 'threatened'. It's not until this species becomes endangered that the hunting quotas will be reduced. Canada likes to wait until a species is nearly extinct prior to taking protective action.

Other Species - According to the committee on the status of endangered wildlife in Canada, there are currently 516 plant and animal species at risk in Canada. Another 13 species are all ready extinct. Canada does nothing to halt the spread of pollution, to prevent ongoing habitat loss,  or to attempt to reverse climate change. One of the major factors behind many species in Canada becoming endangered is due to over harvesting and excessive trade.

Over Harvesting - Once plentiful due to over harvesting these species are now extinct: Passenger Pigeon, Great Auk, &  Eskimo Curlew.

Harp Seals - Canada claims that the seal hunt is needed otherwise the seal population will grow out of control. This is the same rhetoric that is used for hunting deer, and any wild population. Truth is Canada ignores reports that are economically counter productive. Reports about the collapse of the cod industry were predicted 30 years in advance, but these reports were ignored.  If there is an endangered species in Canada, odds are this species was hunted for economical purposes

An over population of seals oddly enough was never considered a problem until it was discovered that 'culling' the seals could be profitable. The seals are not used for food. No one eats seals in Canada except for aboriginals, and they hunt their own seal and have nothing to do with the commercial seal hunt. Sealers like to bring up the the fact that aboriginals eat seals to confuse people. They pretend that aboriginals and the commercial seal hunt are the same. They are not. We are not opposing aboriginal seal hunting, nor are any of the environmental organizations listed on this website.

When Canada was discovered there was an estimated seal population of 30 million. The most optimistic estimate of the current population numbers it at less than 20% of that. If this is the case then the overpopulation reasoning is a hoax. Who decides what a population should be? Is 500 million humans too many? What about 6.5 billion? The human population is predicted to hit 9 billion in 2050. Assuming there is an 'out of control' seal population of 5 million which is a very optimistic number that is thrown around by sealers, then what of it? The web of life is interconnected, predators and a healthy environment will work to keep a population in check without human intervention. The intervention of the Canadian government in the past has caused nothing but endangered and extinct species. A more reasonable estimate is that the population is at 2 million.

In Summary - The Canadian government with the aid of sealers likes to misuse information. They throw words around like aboriginals, sustainability, and culling in order to confuse the public and to distract them from the fact that the seal hunt is simply there to earn money. It is politically popular in Eastern Canada to hunt seals. To oppose this hunt or to pass legislation against it would lose votes. For people who hunt and for their families this is a voting issue. For the rest of Canada it isn't. 

Commercial sealers do not consume seal meat. They are not aboriginals. They do not live traditionally. They live like the rest of North Americans. They have houses, garages, automobiles, and super markets. The idea that they are protecting a way of life is foolish. The idea that they need to make a living is ridiculous. They have the same opportunities as anyone else. You can bet if the whale population was high they would continue to practice whaling, or if the polar bear still survived in that area of Canada they would continue to hunt it.

One argument of desperation that they like to use is the following. Apparently environmental organizations like to publicize the seal hunt in order to collect donations. It should be noted that all of the reputable organizations are run by individuals who are committed to saving wild populations and ending needless animal suffering. They would love for this issue to be over with, there's other problems such as polar bear hunting, whaling, endangered wild cats, the loss of rain forests, pollution, road side zoos, and bear farming, to worry about.

Sealing is done for one reason and one reason only. Greed. Sealers hunt seals to earn money. The seal is used exclusively for the fashion industry. New products are subsidized by the Canadian government but these are never profitable. One example would be seal oil capsules. Seal pelts are sold to high end fashion houses. Seals are killed for money and for fashion. Any mention of culling, aboriginals, traditional life, and eating are simply invalid arguments.

People are always willing to believe that an atrocity is reasonable if it happens in their backyard. Sealers believe it's all right to kill seals for fashion because they need to make a living. Kenyans also believe that it's all right to kill elephants for money, Rwandans believe it's all right to kill Mountain Gorilla's because they need to earn a living, and the Japanese believes it's all right to hunt whales for money. There's a trend here and the above examples could go on for pages. The main difference is that Canada is one of the most developed and wealthy countries in the world and there is no need for savagery.

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