Serious Scientific Doubts Raised Over Canadian Government’s Basis For Seal Hunt
15 March 2006
A new report, released today by Respect for Animals and the Humane Society International (UK), (Harp seal populations in the northwestern Atlantic: modelling populations with uncertainty.) calls into question the very basis of the model used by the DFO to predict the number of harp seals in the Northwest Atlantic and the quota of seals it allows to be clubbed or shot to death each year.
Professor Stephen Harris and his team at Bristol University have concluded that the Canadain model ‘does not apply a precautionary principle and so threatens the survival of seal populations.’ Their report graphically highlights the flaws in the DFO’s methods used to assess the harp seal population: ‘In their 2000 stock assessment for harp seals, the DFO predicted a decline in the population (from the estimated 5.2 million) over the following years as a result of high kill levels in the commercial seal hunt. This is not surprising considering that between one third and one half of all pups born in the population over the past ten years have been slaughtered. Yet four years later, the DFO estimated the Northwest Atlantic harp seal population at 5.9 million seals – an increase of 0.7 million. This contradicts the DFO’s own predictions and highlights the unreliability of the model used to predict the size of the Northwest Atlantic harp seal population.’
An announcement is expected later today by the DFO concerning this year’s seal hunt.
Download the report: ‘Harp seal populations in the northwestern Atlantic: modelling populations with uncertainty.’