Casey, Gord
Seals: We hunt them for many reasons
December 2007
"The Sealing Industry within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador has, on many occasions over the past 25-30 years, received much unwanted and negative press. Quite often, misinformation portrayed in the media is being expressed by people looking for 'the bad' in all 'the good' we do."

Cowan, James
Sleek Seal Is Fashion's "In" Skin : Body-conscious buyers drive pelt price to record high
January 2005
"Boosted by softening attitudes toward the seal hunt and renewed international trade, seal pelt prices are breaking records as consumers discover sealskin is soft, tough -- and exceptionally slimming."

DiCesare, Donald
Seal facts for the novice protester (open letter to Sir Paul McCartney)
March 2006
"Dear Paul: Me thinketh thou dost protesteth too loudly, Sir Knight. Me also thinketh thou art un-informed, ill-informed and downright ignorant of many facts. I refer sir, to your recent appearance on Larry King Live in which you presented your views on your latest cause, the abolishment of the Eastern Canadian Seal Hunt."

Henke, Janice
Canada and the WTO in the 21st century. Anticipating a fair process to decide the legality of trade bans on seal products
January 2008
"If there had not been a virtual halt to the import of seal products into the European Union back in 1983, there would not be an environmental and economic crisis in Atlantic Canada now," writes Dr. Janice Henke. "At that time, the International Fund for Animal Welfare submitted multiple citizen petitions to the legislative bodies of the newly forming Union, and convinced officials that their constituents demanded to ban the import of seal products from animals under the age of one year."

Hervieux-Payette, Céline
Waging the seal war
April 2007
"What could motivate international organizations to spend thousands of dollars to protect an animal that isn’t threatened?" asks the leader of the opposition in Canada's Senate. "In the face of strong emotions and irrationality, this is a legitimate question. In fact, this seal war launches a debate - an urgent one in my view - on those organizations, their moral discourse and their vision of man in his natural surroundings."

Higgins, Myles
What Motivates Seal Hunt Protest Groups?
September 2005
"In an effort to stop Atlantic Canada's annual seal hunt, sealing protest groups are using the tactic of pressuring restaurants in the U.S. into boycotting Canadian seafood products. We all hear sporadic news reports on the efforts of seal protests but how much do we really understand about what these groups are doing, and what is the truth behind the hunt itself?"

High North Alliance
White Sea Harp Seals Nearly Twice as Plentiful as Assumed
November 1998
New estimates put the harp seal population in the Eastern ice fields of the White Sea at 1.5 to 2 million. Reproduced with permission of the High North Alliance.

Jagros, Tina
Wake Up Call
2001
"The fur industry has lived through a turbulent twenty years," recalls Canadian Outdoor Heritage Alliance director Tina Jagros. "We first came under attack on the seal issue. The fact that the industry itself did not use white coat seal pups was irrelevant. The fact that credible scientists found there was not excess suffering or cruelty involved was ignored. The one picture of the white coat seal has haunted our industry at every turn." (This article is categorised under Animal Fibres / Fur)

Jones, Brian
Dead Wrong, Baby; Animal-Rights Movement Hits New Low
December 2005
"It takes something really obnoxious to give offence these days, but a picture that ran in The Telegram Tuesday was one of the most offensive things to appear in public print since Bono blasted Canadians for being stingy with foreign aid," comments the editor of The Sunday Telegram in St. John's, Newfoundland. "The picture featured Brigitte Bardot holding a graphic, which was doctored to look like a photo. It, in turn, depicted a seal holding a club in its mouth, and a human baby lying naked and dead on the ice, with blood collecting under its head." Reproduced with permission of the author. (This article is categorised under Management / Animal Rights)

Lono, Simon
Newfoundland Seal Hunt: Isolated outpost in the eco-wars
April 2006
"It’s easy to see ourselves as a persecuted people during the annual March protest of the seal hunt. In fact, the battle waged by Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Society against the Newfoundland and Labrador seal hunt is only one minor outpost in a larger global battlefield. For them, the seal hunt is just the local stop on the global save-the-earth tour."

Lowry, Rich
PETA's War on the World's Dispossessed
February 2003
"People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals activists jumped on the runway during the Victoria's Secret fashion show and denounced Gisele Bundchen as 'Fur Scum.' ... But the receiving end of all the moral sanctimony is less glamorous: native communities in Canada and elsewhere that have been devastated by the near elimination of seal hunting."

Mastny, Lisa
Coming to Terms with the Arctic (PDF format)
January 2000
"By melding ancient hunting traditions with modern political technique, Arctic indigenous peoples present a baffling challenge to environmental diplomacy. As the Arctic ecology itself begins to change, the need for a common understanding is growing increasingly urgent." This article first appeared in the January/February 2000 edition of World Watch, published by the World Watch Institute, and is distributed with permission.

Momatiuk, Yva and John Eastcott
Brothers of the seals
1998
"Captured with a noose pole and pinned down, the seal struggles. Carefully, three teenagers immobilize the muscular body on a restraining board. One wrong move and flashing canines will sink into the nearest hand or leg, slashing it or tearing a chunk of muscle as big as a ripe plum." A new generation of Pribilof Islanders learn to care for their cultural heritage. First published in Native Peoples Magazine and reproduced with permission.

Sapienza, Davide
Foca: Mors tua, vita mea
2007
"On one side, animal-rights campaigners and world public opinion; on the other, indigenous Inuit peoples and their traditions. In the defendant’s dock, the seal hunters. After constantly being branded as barbaric killers, they now give their side of the story: 'We kill to survive'."

Ward, Simon
IFAW Bids for Russia's Scientific Integrity
1996
"IFAW is now in the final year of a three-year programme which it claims is intended to provide 'assistance to Russian researchers working on marine mammals'. In reality, this seemingly altruistic action is a subterfuge to buy the integrity of scientists and thereby undermine management of the Russian seal hunt.

Ward, Simon
IFAW Missionary Fired for Talking Détente
1996
"A veteran seal hugger has been sacked by the International Fund for Animal Welfare after attempting to broker a deal between Canada's sealers and her unyielding employer.

Ward, Simon
Not One Penis More! "It's Enough to Make You Cry," Says IFAW
1994
"Inspired by the attention that focused on the plight of John Wayne Bobbit, the International Fund for Animal Welfare has come up with a novel way to milk its cash-cow, the harp seal. This year Newfoundland sealers have a quota of 50,000. According to IFAW, that translates into 60,000 (sic) seal penises destined for the bars of Shanghai to perk up the peckers of flagging Chinamen.

West Nordic Council
How Can Anyone Kill a Seal? How Can Anyone Possibly Kill a Whale?
2001
"These are natural questions from people who have spent their lives in populous western cities. To the peoples from northern regions, these questions provoke no more concern than the question, 'How can anyone ever kill a pig or a cow?'" Statement from the West Nordic Council to mark its theme for 2001, "West Nordic Hunting Culture".

Zemanek, Rick
Brit Perspective Unwelcome; Which comes first, innocent baby seals or the lives of innocent Iraqi children?
2003
"Which comes first, innocent baby seals or the lives of innocent Iraqi children?" asks Zemanek, editor of Red Deer Advocate. "A British cabinet minister might have a struggle with this one after lamely observing during a parliamentary debate in London that Canada's international reputation has been damaged by East Coast seal hunts." Reproduced with permission.

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