A Wildlife Article from All-Creatures.org

Harp Seal Hunt Begins [AGAIN] on April 6, 2023

From HarpSeals.org
March 2023

Because of our climate crises, there will be much less ice, so fewer seal pups will be killed by sealers and more will drown attempting to escape the hunters.

Photo by IFAW sometime in the 1980s...

The Canadian government has announced the start of the commercial slaughter of harp seal pups on the Front. The brutal clubbing of defenseless seal pups is set to begin early on April 6th. This year, the ice has been poor throughout most of the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the beginning of the Gulf phase of the slaughter. The ice is also poor around much of Newfoundland and Labrador. This means fewer seal pups will be killed by sealers but more will die of drowning.

The slaughter begins off the Magdalen Islands (Phase I). Last year, these sealers came up empty! In Phase II, harp seal pups are killed around Newfoundland.

Last year, sealers killed over 27,266 pups. That figure is the official "landed" number and does not include seals who were wounded but got away, only to die later.

The ice for pupping this year in the Gulf (Phase I) was better than in many recent years. A large mass of ice floes on the northwest side of the Magdalen Islands in March could have supported many harp seal pups. It also could have made for easy access to the pups for Magdalen Islands sealers. Thankfully, the ice shifted, leaving sealers empty-handed.

Last year, Newfoundland and Labrador sealers killed at least 26,431 harp seal pups.

Help stop the slaughter.

There are many ways to help, from simply making donations that allow us to educate people in Canada and around the world about what is happening, to organizing outreach and protest events in your town. Learn how you can help HERE.

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