Sealing Started Around Newfoundland in 2017 on March 28
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

HarpSeals.org
March 2017

Dragging seals who are not dead by hooks in their mouth is illegal, according to the regulations of this 'hunt', but the DFO has not taken action against violators, despite the evidence presented to them by organizations like HSI and IFAW.

Newfoundland sealers were given the green light by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to start killing harp seals on March 28.

In a rare move, the DFO has authorized a limited kill of 4,000 adult harp seals, specifically for one Canadian company that says that it has an order for seal blubber to be used to produce seal oil capsules.

Soon, the Canadian government will announce the beginning of the harp seal pup massacre. We expect them to set the quota at an astronomical 400,000 again, but how many seal pups will be actually be shot and/or bludgeoned to death for their fur remains to be determined. Sealers killed over 66,000 harp seal pups in 2016 and have been filmed dragging injured seals onto their boats and then beating them and skinning them.

Dragging seals who are not dead by hooks in their mouth is illegal, according to the regulations of this 'hunt', but the DFO has not taken action against violators, despite the evidence presented to them by organizations like HSI and IFAW.

After the sealers skin the seal pups, their bodies of these pups will be dumped in the sea, where they will rot. Sealers will then sell take the skins and sell them to processing companies, the biggest of which is a Norwegian company with a plant in South Dildo, Newfoundland. This company has been purchasing more seal skins in recent years than they could sell, stockpiling them in warehouses. Two years ago, they finally took a hiatus from paying sealers for seal skins to reduce their stockpiles. Last year, they bought skins again.

Attached to the skin of the seal pups is their blubber, which the seal skin processors sell, probably mainly to China, where it is packaged as omega-3 health food supplements. Phoca Lux is a new Canadian company that is also processing seal blubber into such capsules. These capsules, as well as seal skins, are illegal in many parts of the world, including the U.S., the European Union, Russia, Taiwan, and Mexico. If you see seal contraband in the U.S., you can report it to NOAA Law Enforcement at 1-800-853-1964.

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