The Seal Industry: The Misdirected and Uninformed Charity of Celebrity's
Ten years ago Vancouver-born Pamela Anderson received a cold welcome on the Rock when she arrived for a freezing outdoor news conference in an effort to end the commercial seal hunt. Anderson was joined by Hollywood philanthropist Sam Simon, co-creator of “The Simpsons” and offered an oversized novelty cheque for $1 million to the Canadian Sealers Association to bring an end to the hunt.
Anderson and Simon are some of the few celebrities who have condemned the annual Atlantic seal hunt. Names including Brigitte Bardot, the French actress and avid animal lover who is well-known for her high-profile protest against Canada’s seal hunt in 1976. Celebrities being voicing their opinions on animal treatment, particularly the hunting of them continued for years, as in the case of Paul McCartney in 2006 who travelled to the hunting grounds on the Magdalen Islands and pose for photos with animals. Other notable names include Sarah McLachlan, Richard Dean Anderson, and Morrissey.
While the unnecessary slaughter of animals is something that should be protested and not supported, the history, purpose and overall importance the hunting of seals has to not only the ecosystem but also the economy far outweighs the negative views of those who are against the hunting of seals.
An honorable mention of an avid supporter of the Newfoundland seal hunt includes American celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain who came out in support of the seal hunt in 2013 after a group of chefs joined a Canadian seafood boycott which was sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States. Bourdain stated on his Twitter account: “I’m all for protecting seals, but a total ban dooms the Indigenous people above [the] Arctic Circle to death or relocation.”
He has also stated: “To hold the entire Canadian seafood industry hostage over sustainable, absolutely necessary tribal practice is ill-considered…I completely understand the well-meaning intentions of good-hearted chefs who signed this petition. But they are wrong. Visit the Inuit.”
What Anderson, Simon, and other celebrities have misunderstood is that seals are a valuable natural resource, and the seal hunt represents an economic pillar for the dozens of rural communities in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, and the Territories. This long-standing practice can support many families who can derive as much as 35% of their annual income from the commercial seal hunt.
The Indigenous history of seal hunting dates back to over 4,000 years ago, showing a significant reliance on the hunt for its meat as an important source of fat, protein, and vitamins while the pelts supplied communities with warmth. Migratory fishermen began hunting seals in the regions of what is now called Newfoundland and Labrador in the late 1500s, later becoming a large-scale commercial annual event starting in 1723.
Not long ago in 2019, the union representing fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador launched a petition to ask the government to help deal with an overpopulation of seals. This emphasizes the need for the annual hunt as the overpopulation of seals means an underpopulation of cod fish, the seal's main source of food and another extremely vital industry for Newfoundland fishers. The FFAW-Unifor, the largest private-sector fishery trade union in the province demonstrates “that an overpopulation of seals is having a serious impact on important fish species.”
It’s evident that the seal hunt in Newfoundland must therefore continue at a reasonable limit in order to ensure we honor its historic significance in addition to its contemporary practice out of necessity to protect other vital industries.