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GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
PO Box 997 Station B
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5R1
Media Release
For Immediate Release
Stop federal seal hunt subsidies
(Montreal, 29 March 2005) -- Canada must put an end to federal subsidies that support Canada's annual seal hunt off the east coast and instead redirect these funds to creating real jobs in Atlantic Canada for local fishers, said Green Party of Canada Environment critic Sharon Labchuk.
"Most Canadians don't know that the controversial seal hunt, which opened today, is subsidized by their tax dollars," said Labchuk. The Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment reports the federal government provided more than $20 million in subsidies to the sealing industry between 1995 and 2001. Subsidies are used to upgrade and construct seal processing plants, promote the seal hunt in Europe and elsewhere, develop new markets for seal products, and fund research into the development of new seal products.
The Green Party supports wildlife conservation and would redirect seal hunt subsidies to help diversify the economy of Atlantic Canada.
"Killing seals is an off-season activity for fishers and profits make up only a tiny fraction of their incomes. When Canada banned whale killing, people discovered whale watching tours were more profitable. Likewise, the Green Party believes seal watching excursions would be better for the economy and the ecology of the east coast," said Labchuk. "Canada markets itself on wilderness and wildlife. This government-subsidized seal slaughter is a shameful chapter in our history that needs to come to a close."
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is allowing a cull of 925,000 seals between 2003 and 2006. Despite scientific evidence that such a high quota is unsustainable, the federal government claims that the hunt will not harm seal populations and is necessary to allow collapsed cod stocks to recover.
"Cod stocks were depleted by industrial fishing, which was encouraged by the federal government, and not by harp seal herds. Seals are just a convenient scapegoat for a politically-motivated kill," said Labchuk. "When Europeans first arrived on the east coat there were an estimated 24 million harp seals living in balance with so many fish that their abundance could impede the passage of ships. Today, less than 5 million harp seals remain, and the cod are gone. Current seal quotas, not even enforced, are unsustainable and are a threat to the survival of the species. Government scientists predict the seal population will be reduced by a further 30 per cent by 2011."
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For more information:
Sharon Labchuk
902.621.0719
slabchuk@isn.net
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