Harpseals.org is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Charity Working to End the Slaughter of Harp Seals

Whitecoat harp seal pup. (c) Sea Shepherd

Canada's Annual Seal Hunt is the Largest Slaughter of Marine Mammals in the World

The Canadian seal hunt (or more accurately, massacre) took the lives of over 220,000 seal pups this year. It also led to the deaths of 4 sealers and the destruction of four sealing vessels. This annual ritual offers so little economic value to the sealers, and even to the sealing boat captains (whose take is usually 50%), that many stayed home this year.

The slaughter takes place in two phases. The first phase is the Gulf phase, which takes place in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, first in the southern Gulf and then in the northern Gulf. The southern Gulf seal hunt is dominated by sealers from the Magdalen Islands of Quebec. The second phase of the hunt, called the hunt on the Front, takes place off the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. This part of the hunt is dominated by Newfoundland sealers.

There are also two main categories of sealing boats, longliners and smaller boats. This year, sealers on longliners on the Front killed their quota of seals in just two days. Small boats on the Front continued killing seals, eventually killing about 80% of their quota. The kill figures that the Canadian government reports do not include seals who were 'struck and lost' (i.e., seals who were shot or otherwise injured but escaped, possibly dying over the next hours or days).

Canadian sealer clubbing seals. (c) HSUS/Brian Skerry

What these numbers do not disclose is the extreme suffering the harp seal pups endure. In this competitive commercial slaughter, each sealer charges across the ice floes in an effort to kill as many seal pups as he can before someone else gets the pup. This atmosphere discourages adherence to rules and regulations, such as checking for blinking eyes before skinning the seal pups. Observers of the hunt have documented hundreds of violations of these regulations, but the DFO has not levied charges against the perpetrators.

One person who has observed the slaughter of seal pups for many years and who was born and raised in the sealing province of Newfoundland and Labrador is Rebecca Aldworth. In her journal, she described what she saw on the ice floes:

Lone Live Harp Seal Among Seal Carcasses

Lone harp seal pup among dozens of harp seal carcasses left behind by sealers. (c) SF Bay/Indymedia

"As we passed one large red vessel, we saw sealers jump off the side onto the ice. They ran towards a single live seal pup, hakapiks in hand.

The pup, sensing danger, tried desperately to crawl towards the edge of the water. But the two men bearing down on her were faster. One sealer struck her on the side, then twice again on the head. He grabbed her hind flippers and pulled her back across the ice, stopping to club her twice more. He grabbed her front flipper and turned her over.

But then the second sealer kicked the wounded pup with his boot. Seeing a reaction, he motioned to the first sealer, who clubbed her four more times on the head. Not to be outdone, the second sealer grabbed his hakapik and clubbed the baby seal once more. He flipped her over and began to cut her open -- only to roll her back over so the first sealer could club her three more times. This poor baby seal was clubbed thirteen times in total."

Snow crabs from Canada are being boycotted.

Harpseals.org provides extensive information on all aspects of the seal hunt, so that individuals can understand what takes place, when the seal hunt occurs, how the sealers kill the seals, where the killing occurs, who the sealers are, and why the killing continues. Explore the site through the links on the left and top of this page.

We also work tirelessly to end the slaughter and provide information and assistance to seal activists all over the world. Our primary strategy to end the annual Canadian seal hunt is the Canadian seafood boycott. This boycott puts pressure on the sealers themselves and the industry behind the slaughter.

We invite you to use our website to learn about the seal hunt, and we hope you will join us in working to end it.