ProtectSeals Team on Trial for Documenting Canada's Seal Hunt
18 October 2007
Today, the ProtectSeals team – including Mark Glover, Director of UK based Respect for Animals and HSI (UK) – will go on trial for documenting Canada's commercial seal hunt.
On March 26, 2006, five observers from Humane Society International and The Humane Society of the United States were arrested in the Gulf of St. Lawrence by an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who was working with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to patrol the seal hunt. The observers were accused of crossing the 10-metre barrier they are required to maintain from seal hunters as a condition of observation permits issued by the Canadian government. The observers' video footage was then seized, and they were denied observation permits for the rest of that year's hunt.
The Trial
The trial is being held on October 18-19 in the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, home to seal hunters who have a long record of hostility to outside observers.
The Canadian Government Responds to Resolution for EU Ban on Seal Products
In the months following the arrests, no charges were filed in this case.
Then in September 2006, expressing concerns over cruelty, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for an EU ban on the trade in harp and hooded seal products. The EU is one of the largest markets for seal fur. HSUS and HSI representatives were quoted in most Canadian newspapers covering this development. Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Loyola Hearn responded, stating, "If they want a war over this, they bloody well got one."
Shortly thereafter, the HSUS observers were charged under the Fisheries Act with violating the terms of their observation permits. Under Canadian law, permits are governed by the Fisheries Act and penalties are provided for violations.
A Cruelty Cover-Up
This court case is part of an ongoing effort by the Canadian government and sealing interests to block observation of the commercial seal hunt. Over the years, the government has imposed increasingly restrictive conditions on observers, making it at times impossible to document the hunt. For instance, the Canadian government this year proposed doubling the distance observers must remain from seal hunters. Sealers do their part to prevent observers from documenting the hunt with dangerous actions on the ice floes and inciting mob protests and attacks ashore.
What You Can Do
Currently, the DFO is holding a public consultation regarding amendments to the Marine Mammal Regulations that would clarify the terms under which the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans can deny anyone an observation permit if they have been convicted of violating the terms of their observation permit in the previous five years. Write to the DFO and Prime Minister Stephen Harper now to state that you do not support further restrictions on observing the seal hunt.
Supporters around the world are voicing their support for the ProtectSeals team. We believe the truth is on our side and expect our team members to be cleared of all charges. Stay on top of breaking news from the trial by revisiting this website.
The Permitting Process
- Though the commercial seal hunt occurs in public space (the northwest Atlantic Ocean), the Canadian government restricts observation of it by requiring observers to obtain permits that allow them to be within half a nautical mile of sealers engaged in hunting seals.
- The observation permits are issued by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which manages and promotes the commercial seal hunt.
- To obtain an observation permit, each observer must submit to a criminal background check and attend a personal interview with the DFO. The permits must be renewed daily.
- There are a number of conditions attached to the observation permits, including that observers must remain 10 metres away from seal hunters engaged in seal hunting.
The Facts
- Observers from The HSUS and HSI were not, at any time, within 10 metres of a sealer engaged in a seal hunting activity on the ice during the 2006 seal hunt, and we have the evidence to prove it.
- The HSUS and HSI observes the seal hunt each year to witness and document the killing, and to facilitate journalists, scientists and parliamentarians to do the same. It is not in our interests, nor is it necessary, to violate the terms of our observation permits.
- The HSUS, HSI and our representatives have been involved in submitting video evidence of more than 700 apparent violations of the Marine Mammal Regulations committed by seal hunters—including the skinning of seals while alive and able to feel pain. To date, the Canadian government has failed to lay a single charge in response to this evidence.
For updates visit www.hsicanada.ca