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Seal pelts. Who buys them and how are they used?

Seal coats: 'Soft, Stylish' and dead.

Although the European whitecoat seal pelt import ban enacted in 1987 had a dramatic effect on the seal pelt market, the market began to grow in the 1990's thanks to efforts by the Canadian government. The victims? Baby seals just grown out of their whitecoat stage. Ninety five percent of the seals killed in the Canadian seal hunt are between 12 days and 4 months old.

Who buys the pelts?

The following information is from Industry Canada. The figures are raw seal skin exports in Canadian dollars. Note: After 2006, Canada eliminated the category "raw seal skins" in published statistics in favor of "raw skins - not elsewhere specified", thus including skins from other animals as well. A ploy to keep the real information about the seal 'hunt' hidden from the world?

Which companies sell finished seal fur coats, accessories, and trinkets?

The following companies have sold seal skin products. Contact them to find out whether their newest collections have them. Let them know that you oppose the use of seal skins and will boycott ALL their products until they stop supporting the seal slaughter.

Birger Christensen
Ostergade 38
DK-1100 Copenhagen K Denmark
Phone: 45 33 11 55 55
Fax: 45 33 93 21 35
bc@birger-christensen.com
Makes and sells harp seal fur garments. In their store, they also sell harp seal fur garments made by Prada and Dolce & Gabbana.

Prada
Prada S.P.A.
Via Andrea Maffei, 2
20154 Milan, Italy
Phone: 39 02 54 67 01

Prada (U.S. office)
Katherine Ross, V.P. of Communications
610 W. 52nd St.
New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212 307 9300

Dolce & Gabbana
Via Goldoni, 10,
20129 Milano, Italy.
+39 02 774271
Fax +39 02 76020600.

Gucci
685 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10022
212-750-5220
clientservice-europe@gucci.it
Has said that it won't use seal skins anymore (continues to use other animals' skins)

Versace
Donatella Versace
Versace S.P.A. Headquarters
Via Manzoni, 38
Milan ITALY 20121
Phone: 39 02 76 09 31
Fax: 39 02 76 00 41 22

Louis Vuitton
https://wws.louisvuitton.com/web/html/yourquestions/contact.jsp?langue=en_GB&buy=1&
Customer service in the United Kingdom: (44) 207 399 40 50
Customer service in the U.S. 1.866.VUITTON

Who processes the pelts and how?

There are only a few major processing companies. NuTan Furs, formerly known as Atlantic Marine Products ( PO Box 39, Main St., Catalina, NL, Canada A0C 1J0, Tel: (709) 469-2849, Fax: (709) 469-3211, Contact: Chris Pilgrim. Sales manager: Martin Duchesne, 709-785-7387, aag819@thezone.net; Plant manager: Dean Russell, 709-469-2849, cell 709-468-6347). This is the second largest processor. It is a subsidiary of the Barry Group (one of the largest seafood companies in Atlantic Canada). NuTan Furs / Atlantic Marine Products sells over 100,000 pelts each year. They are capable of processing up to about 150,000 pelts in their Catalina, Newfoundland plant.

Another processor, Carino Company Ltd., (P.O. Box 6146, St. John's, NL,Canada A1C 5X8, Tel: (709) 582-2100, Fax: (709) 582-2487, Contact: John Kearley), which is owned by a Norwegian corporation, G.C. Reiber and Co., has a plant in a sealing town called South Dildo, Newfoundland. (We are not making this up.) The plant is located in a small industrial complex next to a fish processing plant. There, employees make great efforts to maintain a low profile, worrying that any attention they get will be negative. There are no signs that say "Carino" on their building. This is the largest seal skin processor. Write Carino's parent company, GC Rieber an email here.

The processing of the pelts requires more than a month and involves several steps. Each pelt is approximately 3-4 feet long by 2-3 feet wide. The usual process involves soaking them in brine for several weeks and then tanning them, but the pelts can be stored for several months in brine without any degradation. Some of the pelts are also dyed. After the pelts are tanned, they sell them to brokers, who in turn sell them to fur coat and accessory manufacturers in China and other countries in the Far East, Russia, Siberia, and Europe (see table above).

We have heard that thousands of excess pelts are stacked in warehouses throughout eastern Canada and Norway. This may or may not be true. What we do know is that Carino's parent company, G.C. Reiber and Co., was caught burning 10,000 excess harp seal pelts in 2006.

The value of the pelt industry

The total export value of the fur industry in Canada increased from CAN$185,309,841 in 2001 for "raw furskins" to CAN$242,556,390 in 2005. For processed/tanned skins, the export value rose from CAN$216,081,324 in 2001, to CAN$286,760,595 in 2005, according to Industry Canada. The value of the seal skin exports (see table above) is about 5% of the total value of the Canadian fur industry. in 2001, Canada's fur industry was valued at $335 million, and seal fur was a small portion of Canada's fur trade.

The prices of seal pelts rose in the early part of this century. In 2003, they sold for approximately CAN$45 . In 2005, they sold for about CAN$70. In 2006, the prices were hyper-inflated, averaging about CAN$118. Thus prices came down in subsequent years (see tables below).

Atlantic Marine Products also claims that they represent a great value to the community. An Atlantic Marine Products brochure contends that, in Catalina, "the harvesting and processing of seals forms a community event involving many local residents." However, the plant itself only employs about 45 people, in what looks much more like a daily grind than a county fair.

2008 Price List 04/03/08 from Carino in Canadian dollars

Note #1: All products will be subject to quality inspection!
Note #2: Not more than 5% Ragged Jackets will be accepted in any lot purchased! Any and all above prices are subject to change without notice!

2007 Price List from Carino in Candian dollars

Conclusions

Seal killing is a business- a sickening one, with the pelts bringing in the largest profits from this business. Seal oil for human consumption is a smaller industry. Profits in the sealing industry go mostly to sealing boat captains and seal skin processors. In some years, the sealers can make several hundred dollars; in others even sealing boat captains and independent sealers can barely break even. Nevertheless, the Canadian government continues to prop up this industry even though the majority of Canadian taxpayers do not want their tax dollars used in this way.

While eliminating the demand for seal skins is an important part of ending the seal massacres, it's not the only way to ensure that this industry becomes unprofitable. Since the fishing industry is so closely tied with the sealing industry, our boycott of Canadian seafood will ensure that the seal killing becomes a drain on the economies of the Maritime provinces, especially Newfoundland, where most of the seal killing takes place. So, join the boycott today!