IV 

★

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1314 

Urging the Government of Canada to end the commercial seal hunt. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 29, 2010 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Ms. BERKLEY, 

Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. 

BERMAN, Mr. FARR, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. POLIS of Colorado, Mr. STARK, and Mr. HARE) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the Government of Canada to end the commercial 

seal hunt. 

Whereas the Government of Canada permits an annual commercial hunt for seals in the waters off the east coast of 

Canada; 

Whereas Canada’s commercial seal hunt is the largest of its 

kind in the world, with an average allowable catch of 

about 300,000 harp seals; 

Whereas the Government of Canada banned the commercial 

hunting of newborn harp seals (whitecoats) and hooded 

seal pups (bluebacks) in 1987, but allows sealers to legally hunt harp seal pups as soon as they begin to molt 

their white coats, at approximately 12 days of age; 


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•HRES 1314 IH1S 

Whereas 97 percent or more of the seals killed are pups between just 12 days and 12 weeks of age; 

Whereas seals are hunted for their pelts, oil, and meat; 

Whereas commercial seal hunting differs from subsistence 

seal hunting; 

Whereas several aboriginal and Inuit communities traditionally subsist on seal hunting and, for that reason, are exempt from restrictions applying to the commercial seal 

hunt; 

Whereas in recent years, the Minister of Fisheries and 

Oceans of Canada has authorized historically high quotas 

for harp seals; 

Whereas the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans of Canada has 

decided to increase the quota for seals for the 2010 commercial seal hunt despite high pup mortality, low seal fur 

prices and reduced industry participation; 

Whereas seals are either shot or struck on the head by a 

hakapik or club; 

Whereas many seals are injured in the course of the hunt and 

escape beneath the ice where they die slowly and are 

never recovered; 

Whereas such seals are not properly counted in official kill 

statistics, increasing the likelihood that the actual kill 

level is far higher than the level that is reported; 

Whereas in 2007, an international panel of experts in veterinary medicine and zoology was invited by the Humane 

Society of the United States to observe the commercial 

seal hunt in Canada; 

Whereas the report by the panel noted a widespread failure 

by sealers to comply with the Marine Mammal RegulaVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:20 May 03, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1314.IH HR1314

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•HRES 1314 IH1S 

tions that govern the commercial seal hunt and by authorities to effectively monitor the hunt and enforce such 

regulations; 

Whereas also in 2007, the Scientific Panel on Animal Health 

and Welfare adopted the European Food Safety 

Authority’s (EFSA) Scientific Opinion; 

Whereas the report concluded that avoidable pain, distress, 

fear, and other forms of suffering occur during hunting 

and that seals may be skinned while still alive; 

Whereas members of the fishing and sealing industries in 

Canada continue to justify the seal hunt on the grounds 

that the seals in the Northwest Atlantic are preventing 

the recovery of cod stocks, despite the lack of any credible scientific evidence to support this claim; 

Whereas the consensus in the international scientific community is that culling seals will not assist in the recovery of 

fish stocks and that seals are a vital part of the Northwest Atlantic marine ecosystem; 

Whereas the few thousand fishermen who participate in the 

commercial seal hunt in Canada earn, on average, only 

a tiny fraction of their annual income from killing seals 

with the remainder coming from seafood; 

Whereas a recent poll reveals that half of Newfoundland 

sealers holding an opinion support a Federal buyout of 

the commercial sealing industry which would compensate 

fishermen for their sealing licenses and invest in economic alternatives in the communities involved; 

Whereas polling has consistently shown that the majority of 

people in Canada oppose the commercial seal hunt and 

support foreign nations’ ending their trade in seal products; 


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•HRES 1314 IH1S 

Whereas 11 countries have prohibited trade in seal products 

in recent years, including the United States and the European Union; 

Whereas the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) bars the import into the United 

States of any seal products; and 

Whereas the persistence of this cruel and needless commercial 

hunt is inconsistent with the well-earned international 

reputation of Canada: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) urges the Government of Canada to prohibit 

3 its commercial hunting of seals, while allowing sub4 sistence hunting for aboriginal and Inuit commu5 nities; and 

6 (2) strongly encourages other countries to ban 

7 trade in seal products. 

Æ 


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