The Deception Behind Canada's Commercial Sealing

1072 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How does seal hunting affect the environment in atlantic canada

For as long as humans lived in Atlantic and Northern Canada, seals were hunted for food, clothing, tools, and cultural customs. Seal hunts still take place off the Newfoundland coast, near the Magdalene Islands, the Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Inuit regions every spring for rural communities and commercially to provide part-time employment for fishermen. Commercial hunts occurring only for money differ from traditional hunts and lack the respect for seals. Many individuals take offense to the gruesome sight of sealing, and in 2010 the European Union banned all seal product imports, excluding products from Aboriginal hunts, causing low demand in the seal market. Amidst the controversy, the Canadian Government often omits the differences between rural and commercial sealing, and misleadingly promotes the sealing business. It is the Canadian Government’s best interest to permit rural seal hunts for their environmental, social, and economic strengths, but to ban the commercial hunt as it does not reflect traditional sealing, therefore lacks such benefits. In comparison to the customary sealing, commercial sealing is far more wasteful. Rural sealing applies to the Aboriginals and residents of 53° north or higher, and others that use a personal license to harvest up to six seals per year for subsistence. Within communities where sealing occurred for generations the traditional method of sealing is practiced, which hunts adult seals to use more parts, including fur, meat, oil, bones and blubber for food, fuel, tools, and crafts. Seals are only hunted if needed, so traditional sealing is also a sustainable practice by killing less than 1, 000 seals per year. The Canadian Government claims that commercial sealing is just as enviro... ... middle of paper ... ...als have seen of the slaughter or change their concerns; more thought and money should be put towards helping those in financial need, and promoting true traditional sealing to increase its market. In supporting the commercial hunt, the Canadian government falsely represents the rural communities, portraying that they too are an unethical slaughter. Commercial sealing is inhumane, wasteful, and drains the money from the Aboriginal’s seal market, as well as taxpayer’s wallets. Continuing to encouragement the industry puts Canada’s reputation on the world stage and prevents sealers from finding better, sustainable, long-term careers. With a dying industry it is inevitable that commercial sealing will come to an end, which the Canadian Government needs to accept. Overall the commercial hunt does not reflect traditional values, therefore it no longer belongs in Canada.

Show More
Related

  • The Indian Act In Canada

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Indian Act no longer remains an undisputable aspect of the Aboriginal landscape in Canada. For years, this federal legislation (that was both controversial and invasive) governed practically all of the aspects of Aboriginal life, starting with the nature of band governance and land tenure. Most importantly, the Indian act defines qualifications of being a “status Indian,” and has been the source of Aboriginal hatred, due to the government attempting to control Aboriginals’ identities and status. This historical importance of this legislation is now being steadily forgotten. Politically speaking, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal critics of the Indian act often have insufferable opinions of the limits of the Indian Act’s governance, and often argue to have this administrative device completely exterminated. Simultaneously, recent modern land claim settlements bypass the authority of the Indian Act over specific groups.

    Read More

  • History Of The Calder Case

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    The journey for the Aboriginals to receive the right to keep and negotiate land claims with the Canadian government was long but prosperous. Before the 1970's the federal government chose not to preform their responsibilities involving Aboriginal issues, this created an extremely inefficient way for the Aboriginals to deal with their land right problems. The land claims created by the Canadian government benefited the aboriginals as shown through the Calder Case, the creation of the Office of Native Claims and the policy of Outstanding Business.

    Read More

  • Environmental Justice Struggles in Canada: Asubpeeschoseewagong (“Grassy Narrows”) First Nation

    2422 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Grassy Narrows (Asubpeeschoseewagong) First Nation is an Ojibwa First Nation located north of Kenora, ON. The community has been fighting against environmental injustices imposed on them from various actors over the last 40 years (Rodgers, 2009, para. 10), involving issues with mercury poisoned fish (para. 1) clear cutting of their lands (para. 27) and subsequent degradation of their land, water and food sources. This essay will detail the environmental justice struggles of the Grassy Narrows First Nation, point out the unfair treatment and environmental racism they have been subject to and will also question the role that authority, power and litigation have played within the community.

    Read More

  • Newfoundland and Labrador's Cod Collapse

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    Greenpeace. (2008, May 8). The collapse of the Canadian Newfoundland cod fishery. Retrieved June 17, 2014, from Greenpeace International Home: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/seafood/understanding-the-problem/overfishing-history/cod-fishery-canadian/

    Read More

  • Canadian Sovereignty over the Northwest Passage

    1943 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Government of Canada , "Canada's Arctic Foreign Policy." Last modified June 03, 2013. Accessed November 27, 2013. http://www.international.gc.ca/arctic-

    Read More

  • Canada Should Sell Water to America

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    Water is easily available to Canadians. According to Report Newsmagazine, Canada possesses 20% of the world’s Fresh Water. Report also states that Canada possesses only 0.5% of the world’s population. This means that on a per capita basis, Canada has more water than any other nation. Furthermore, water is a renewable resource, which means that once it is used, it may be used again after the water cycle. Many other materials Canada sells to the United States are not renewable. Dennis Owens, the senior Frontier Centre analyst says, “Here we are giving non-renewable oil and gas to the U.S., then water falls from the sky and goes into the ocean and we won’t give it to them.” In Newfoundland, Gisbourne Lake has the potential to drain 500,000 cubic meters of water per week. This drainage would only lower the level of the lake one inch and this would naturally be replenished within ten hours. Canada has cut down trees that will take 100 years to grow back and sold them. S...

    Read More

  • Commercial Whaling: The Ethical and Political Debate

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...d the economic, ethical, and practical aspects of international regulation. Different views of ecology, culture, and legitimacy as they pertain to a valued resource and its exploitation for human purposes. While it is safe to say one must preserve the historical and cultural value of whaling nations and nations around the world, it can also be said of animals. While many nations continue to cling to their cultural ancestry background of whaling and the right for scientific research, it is proven that such human endeavors must be carefully and faithfully regulated. Commercial whaling has essentially seized to exist in the clear claims of such, but Japan and other nations are ever so slightly getting closer to that boundary. “We should remember in our dealings with animals that they are a sacred trust to us…[They] cannot speak for themselves” (Harriet Beecher Stowe).

    Read More

  • Seal Hunting in Atlantic Canada

    1638 Words  | 4 Pages

    "Sealing in Canada." Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 13 Mar. 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. .

    Read More

  • Arctic Sovereignty In Canada

    541 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, global warming has an immense impact on Arctic Sovereignty as the rise of greenhouse gases thrive in Canada along with other countries. Within 20 years, the polar ice caps of the Arctic have melted twice as fast compared to before. The loss of Arctic ice can furthermore pose a threat to shipping, as navigating the Arctic becomes increasingly challenging. Finally, climate change threatens the extinction of numerous animal species, namely the polar bear. Hence, global warming poses a major challenge to Arctic Sovereignty and Canada along with other members in the Arctic Council must prevent it.

    Read More

  • A Modest Proposal Protecting The Environment Essay

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    Now, sustainable development and quality of life are crucial to the well being of our nation. Thus, I have pondered many a year on this very important matter and have consulted a very knowing Canadian of my acquaintance at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The amount of natural resources in this country being usually reckoned infi...

    Read More

  • Aboriginal Poverty In Canada

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    “In about half of the Dominion, the aboriginal rights of Indians have arguably been extinguished by treaty” (Sanders, 13). The traditions and culture of Aboriginals are vanishing at a quick pace, and along it is their wealth. If the Canadian Government restore Native rights over resource development once again, Aboriginals would be able to gain back wealth and help with the poverty in their societies. “An influential lobby group with close ties to the federal Conservatives is recommending that Ottawa ditch the Indian Act and give First Nations more control over their land in order to end aboriginal poverty once and for all” (End First). This recommendation would increase the income within Native communities, helping them jump out of

    Read More

  • Seal Hunting In Canada Essay

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    If there is a new law that enforces every child to be killed within its first three months for industrial purposes, it will not seem realistic but in Canada, it is a current event. It may not be happening to humans, but it is a recurring issue for seals in Canada. In the recent years, seal hunting has become a controversial matter for Canadians, but the death of the seals is not a major concern to the government because what matters most to them is the revenue they profit from the production and trade of the seal products. However, seal hunting should be prohibited in Canada because baby seals are impetuously being killed, negatively impacting employment opportunities and traditions of the Inuit, and millions of taxpayers’ money is being wasted inconsiderably by the commercial seal hunting industry and for fighting the ban of seal hunt.

    Read More

  • Martha Of The North Analysis

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    The unit readings argue that anthropologists insist that global flows also partake in affecting local practices. The beliefs and customs of the Inuit are accounted for their interaction with the environment, but these factors also interrelate with neighbouring societies, global capitalism, and international NGOs, as Martha of the North describes. The Inuit were used by the Canadian government in a form of racism and cruelty. To affirm sovereignty in the vast arctic land, Canada had to have permanent residences residing within these territories. They had created a façade that they were providing the Inuit with the opportunity of a better life when in reality, they did not care about them at all. The government had less than honest intentions. What the people who represented the nation did to the relocation of the Inuit is unacceptable and its effect can be explained through holism but also goes beyond the concept on an international scale. Global practices influenced the local practices of the Inuit in the High Arctic. The government representatives of Canada at that time did not value the lives of these people and only cared about their own

    Read More

  • Whaling Persuasive Speech

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    On average, ten million people annually will take an excursion to visit whales in their natural habitat. This industry is worth 2.1 billion dollars a year according to the BBC, compared to a massive reduction of 31 million dollars and this makes it far more profitable than whaling. A researcher from the University of British Columbia reported in an interview that "This shows that we can have our whales and still benefit from them, without killing them," The whale watching industry, annually creates around 13,000 people from across the globe and this figure is constantly on the rise. Another example is the International Fund for Animal Welfare which has created a charity to try and avoid the attraction to whale meat and are trying to get people to experience whales for who they really are. This programme has been set up in Reykjavik and has over one hundred volunteers from around the world. As far as Scientific Whaling goes, there are a vast array of humane and credible alternatives which all negate the need to kill these magnificent creatures. These methods include DNA sampling which can be collected from blubber, skin which the whales shed and faecal matter. As technology is advancing, new methods of tracking and remote recording whales are becoming more available which will allow the whales movements and position to proved vital information which would be unobtainable any other way. The choice is ours, we can watch these awe inspiring magnificent or we can blow them up with explosive harpoons. I know my

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Whaling

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    The International Whale Protection Organization (IWPO) was organized against the act of whaling and is a non-profit organization. This organization is for supporters like the citizens of Iceland who are concerned with the potential dangers this business brings to the whale population. Another organization that has similar goals as the IWPO is The Internal Whaling Commission (IWC) whose mission it to protect the whales of the sea, consisting of 88 members all around the world. This organization to this day is to make sure the whales are safe, not only from whaling, but from any environmental concern there may be. Although there are many organizations to help the whales, a factor to be considered is that whaling has done well for the economy for the countries that pursued this commercial industry. Whaling has produced many jobs for citizens in these countries, which is not only important to those individuals, it is also important to the economy. Whale’s and their meat are sold at very high profit margins, which results in a great economic

    Read More

More about The Deception Behind Canada's Commercial Sealing

Open Document