The campaign IFAW supported a boycott of Canadian fish and fish products to pressure the government into ending the seal hunts, distorted the regulations by alleging that baby seals are still clubbed for their pelts and sport hunting licenses are available, and claimed that seal populations are in danger from the hunt. Contrary to IFAW allegations, however, there is no sport hunting of seals allowed, and those who kill baby seals are in violation of the law. Licenses are issued to commercial fishermen and to individual residents of communities adjacent to traditional sealing areas in Newfoundland and parts of Quebec. Individuals must attend training seminars that focus on humane methods of killing seals, personal safety, and environmental concerns before they are allowed to kill up to six seals for food. East coast Inuits and Indians who harvest seals for their own use are exempt from licensing.
Commercial licenses are limited to registered professional fishermen.
Harvest must be done on land or in small vessels, and the fullest possible use of the animal must be made. Last year, about 10,000 seal hunters killed about 242,000 seals, about four times the number caught in 1995. The government Department of Fisheries monitored the hunt with about 100 observers and filed 114 charges against potential violators. An amateur IFAW videotape provided evidence against four sealers who were eventually convicted of cruelty for their methods, and 101 hunters and processors were accused of illegally killing baby harp and hooded seals. The Canadian Sealers Association was founded in 1982 as a direct response to attacks on the sealing industry by animal rights groups.