Grey Seals Spared from Slaughter

February 12, 2009

	Mother and baby at peace. © HSI

Yesterday, thousands of baby grey seals on Hay Island were spared a brutal death by sealers due to a lack of demand for their skins. When seal processing plants told seal hunters that they could not find buyers for the pelts of the baby grey seals, the sealers stayed home.

Rebecca Aldworth and the ProtectSeals team, on hand to document the cruel killing, instead filmed the peaceful mothers and pups resting on the beach. "A miracle happened, and what would have been one of the worst days of my life became one of the best: instead of bearing witness to sealers beating defenseless seal pups to death with wooden bats, we stood on Hay Island to celebrate life with the seals," said Aldworth, director of HSI Canada.

“As we walked on to the island, so peaceful in absence of the seal hunters, I was struck by the beauty of the place,” Aldworth continued. “All around us, protective mothers nursed their babies. The sweet pups looked up at us trustingly—they have no reason to fear people, because they do not know what happened here last year.”

The fact that buyers are unwilling to purchase grey seal pelts this year proves that global markets for seal products are evaporating. With a pending ban on seal product trade in the European Union, the writing is on the wall—this is the beginning of the end of the commercial seal slaughter.

"By simply considering a seal product trade ban, the EU has already had a major impact on markets for seal products, and has saved thousands of seals from being clubbed to death," said Mark Glover, director of HSI UK. "It is essential that the EU enact a full and unconditional ban on the trade in seal products to help end Canada's inhumane and unnecessary seal slaughter."

The harp seal hunt will begin in a few weeks. © Mark Glover/HSI

The moment of peace Aldworth experienced is fleeting. In just a few weeks’ time, the true target of the world's largest slaughter of marine mammals—the harp seals—will be killed by the hundreds of thousands in horrible ways.

But, just as with the grey seals, there is hope for the harp seals. If the European Union stays its course and passes an unconditional ban on seal product trade, baby harp seals could be spared, too.

“There is so much at stake—the lives of millions of seals hang in the balance,” said Aldworth. She recalled, “As I looked into the eyes of the grey seal pups, I was struck by the fact that they all would have been dead were it not for the actions of compassionate nations," adding, "Harp seals, too, deserve to live out their lives in peace.”

HSI Canada will be monitoring the grey seal situation closely and will be on hand to document if conditions change and the slaughter does proceed. Meanwhile, we are renewing our call for the Canadian government to compensate affected workers by buying out sealing licenses, and to develop alternative economies for coastal communities. It is time for this needless killing to end.

Related Links

Read about the 2008 grey seal kill

Read about the 2008 harp seal kill