Baby Seal Trade
CASE NUMBER: 81
CASE MNEMONIC: BABYSEAL
CASE NAME: Baby Seal Import Ban
A. IDENTIFICATION
1. The Issue
Eastern Canada newborn harp seals can no longer be killed for
their pelts. For centuries the Eskimos and the Inuits have
depended on seal blubber, meat, and fur for fuel, food, and
clothing. Many also have made a living through the trade of seal
products. It is argued by the Arctic natives that "the consumptive
use of wild animals is not only critical as a source of cash income
but also integral to subsistence economies and cultures." On the
opposite side, animal rights groups view the seal hunt as pure
barbarism and feared that at current harvesting levels, the seal
would become endangered. Thus, preservation groups have actively
sought limits to the baby seal harvests. Clearly this issue
represents conflicting cultural and ethnic views.
2. Description
For centuries the seal has provided the Eskimos and Inuit with
the necessities of life. In addition, seal hunting aided the
economy and wildlife management. The natives argue that "if you do
not remove approximately 150,000 seal pups from their birthplace
every year, the population of seals will get out of control.
Newfoundlanders think of the seal not only as a natural resource
but also as a competitor." Every individual adult harp seal eats
approximately 7 pounds of fish every day, or 1.25 tons of fish
every year. This is an important factor to communities that
depend on fishing.
The seal pup hunt also provides economic relief from the
decline in employment during winter months. "A Newfoundland
fisherman used to estimate that if he worked hard, he would earn
only a couple of thousand dollars during the four to six weeks of
the seal pup hunt. Nevertheless, in many cases this made up almost
a third of his yearly income." Thus, the seal hunt was needed for
basic subsistence for many Arctic communities.
In the eighteenth century, however, the seal hunts became
mechanized and eventually expanded to an average catch of 450,000
animals a year. While this figure declined after 1850, it
increased again in the 1950's as a result of Norwegian steel ships
that were able to break the ice and thus hunters could reach areas
that had not been exploited. Also, before the 1950's seal was
hunted primarily for blubber. "In 1952, it became, for the first
time, more lucrative to hunt the seals for their pelts than for
their blubber." With this, baby harp seal skins or "whitecoats"
became most desired as their pelts are a flawless white. It was
this discovery that changed the hunt and later resulted in vast
opposition to seal harvesting.
With the 1960's the hunt included such technology as radar,
airplanes, icebreakers and helicopters. "The peak year for the
seal hunt was 1964. One hundred and fifty airplanes and
helicopters took part in the hunt that year. Many inexperienced
men were sent out on the ice. Many seals were killed without being
used or being transported away from the site. Later on it was
estimated that the population had been reduced to 1.5 million,
decimated by 200,000 animals since 1950, and probably halved during
the last hundred years. It became clear that things were moving in
the wrong direction, and probably had been doing so for a number of
years."
It was at this time that restrictions on seal hunting began to
emerge. New regulations shortened the hunting season and limited
the use of planes. It also became law that the animal must be
killed before being skinned (a desire that was not always
fulfilled). Quotas of only 50,000 pups per year were established
within the Canadian jurisdiction. In addition, the International
Commission for Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (ICNAF) established a
"seal panel" which in 1971 set quotas of 245,000 animals that could
be slaughtered. In 1972 this number dropped to 150,000 and only a
third could be whitecoats (baby seals). These actions resulted
in sealers pitted against an array of preservation groups.
During the 1970's the harvesting of seal pups began to draw
media attention. This was fairly easy to do as seal pups are
incredibly photogenic and blood is very visible on white snow and
white coats. To many, the sight of baby seals being clubbed to
death confirmed that seal hunting was inhumane. Although
preservation efforts have increased the seal population and
lessened the ecological threat, a strong reaction against seal
hunting remains. Groups that have contributed to this cause
include Greenpeace, the International Fund for Animal Welfare
(INFW), the Animal Protection Institute of America (API), The Seal
Rescue Fund, the Humane Society of the United States, Friends of
Animals, the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee (CARC) and the
World Wide Fund of Nature (WWF).
With the outrage from seal hunts the demand for fur has
decreased as has its price. "Sealskin has become virtually
impossible to sell." Unfortunately, to those in the Arctic who
depend on seal trade, they have found their livelihood destroyed
and with it their culture. In fact, "in 1983, opponents of the
harvest succeeded in persuading the Council of Ministers of the
European Economic Community (EEC), backed by the European
Parliament, to ban the import of the skins of harp and hooded seal
pups. They followed up in 1984 by organizing a boycott of Canadian
fish products in American and British markets. The result was
dramatic, touching off a collapse in the world market for seal
skins."
While the harp seal is no longer immediately threatened, this
case clearly demonstrates how human activity can have an
environmental impact. When preservation efforts began it was
feared that at current harvest levels the seal would become
endangered. There is also the issue of whether the hunt is
inhumane or not and this has effected the trade of sealskins.
Therefore, this case is especially difficult because it entails a
cultural factor.
3. Related Cases
- ECFURBAN
- CANCOD
- BEAR
- USCHINA
- EUMEAT
- MADCOW
- BABYSEAL
- ESKIMO
Keyword Clusters
(1): Trade Product = FUR
(2): Bio-geography = POLAR
(3): Environmental Problem = Species Loss Land [SPLL]
4. Draft Author: Janet Herrlinger and Peter Erdman
B. LEGAL Cluster
5. Discourse and Status: AGReement and COMPlete
The hunts for harp seals have been stopped in Newfoundland.
6. Forum and Scope: EURCOM and COMPlete
There are many legal areas this case falls under: (1) national
jurisdictions (Canada) are involved, (2) bilateral organizations
such as the various preservation organizations are involved, and
(3) because the EEC is involved as a regional entity (see also
ECFURBAN case).
7. Decision Breadth: 16 [EURCOM and CANADA]
Those who have been negatively affected would be the
Newfoundland fisherman, who find that seals deplete fish harvests.
Eskimo tribes and the Canadian Inuit are also effected by the loss
of income from the sale of seal products. Others involved would
include the European Economic Community and a large array of animal
rights and preservation groups, who have succeeded in stopping the
slaughter of seals.
8. Legal Standing: TREATY
C. GEOGRAPHIC Clusters
9. Geographic Locations
a. Geographic Domain: EUROPE
b. Geographic Site: WESTERN EUROPE [WEUR]
c. Geographic Impact: CANADA
10. Sub-National Factors: NO
The EEC ban on fur imports has effected the seal fur trade
everywhere. Laws established in Europe have had a direct effect on
Newfoundland fishing villages and Inuit communities.
11. Type of Habitat: POLAR
D. TRADE Clusters
12. Type of Measure: Import Ban [IMBAN]
13. Direct vs. Indirect Impacts
Impact: Direct
With limits on harvesting, seals were able to gain in numbers
once again. Yet, limits on seal harvesting has hurt the Inuit and
Eskimo tribes. The EEC import ban helped with a boycott of
Canadian fish products in American and British markets.
14. Relation of Measure to Environmental Impact
a. Directly Related : YES WOOD
b. Indirectly Related : NO
c. Not Related: : NO
d. Process Related : YES DEFORestation
15. Trade Product Identification: Harp SEALskins
16. Economic Data
The price of seal pelts have dropped significantly. With this
a severe drop in income levels for Arctic Communities has occurred
"After the anti-sealskin directive issued by the European Economic
Community (EEC) in 1983 had started to have its effect, the total
national income from the hunt fell from $13 million to under $3
million. The seal hunters' income fell from $7 million to $1.3
million. The individual Newfoundland fisherman's income from this
hunt fell from $2,000 to under $400 a year. The Inuit's income
fell to an all-time low of about $100."
The seal trade industry has been virtually destroyed by the
EEC directive and negative public opinion. Also, those who
supplemented their income through seal harvesting have lost
hundreds and thousands of dollars a year. "Activists in
Greenpeace, the world wide environmental protection organization
are being accused of saving the seals at the expense of human
beings. Until the end of the 1970's, 90 percent of the Eskimos in
the Canadian Arctic earned their living exclusively from the sale
of sealskins. Then the campaign against hunting young seals began
in Western Europe, among other places, banned the import of young
sealskins, as a result. Today most Eskimos live on social
welfare." "Newfoundland's people are proud, but this has always
been Canada's poorest province. The embargo has made the situation
worse. On Notre Dame Bay in the northeast, there are villages with
up to 80 percent unemployment." More than the issue of baby seal
pelts hangs in the balance as the entire seal trade hopes to find
a growing market for seal meat, fat products, and even an Asian
market for seal-genitalia based aphrodisiac products.
17. Impact of Measure on Trade Competitiveness: BAN
Dollar loss is dramatic because as people's income is lost,
their buying power is reduced. This then also hurts the local
businesses in the Arctic Communities. Seal skins have decreased in
price because of negative public opinion, thus hurting the
industry.
18. Industry Sector: Textiles/Apparel [TEXTAPP]
The Geneva-based ISO (International Organization for
Standardization) has been working on the definition of "humane
trapping standards," standards which would then be taken into
account in the framework of EU regulations on the use of leg-traps
and importation of fur from third countries.
19. Exporters and Importers: CANADA and EURCOM
E. ENVIRONMENT Cluster
20. Environmental Problem Type: Species Loss: Land [SPLL]
The environmental problem is the threat of endangering the
harp seal.
21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species
Name: Seal
Type: Animal/Vertebrate/Mammal/Carnivore
Diversity: 14 mammals per 10,000
km/sq (Canada)
Harp seals are the focus of this study, yet many other seals
can be threatened by exploitation. If uncontrolled hunting
occurred throughout the area any species of seal could become
depleted.
22. Resource Impact and Effect: LOW and PRODuct
With the ban on fur trade the seal population has increased.
Eventually this could become a problem as the hunt was used as a
wildlife management procedure. While these communities are
negatively effect through the loss of sealskin trade, if seals
deplete the fish resources this could be even more disastrous.
"If the seal population is indeed booming that could spell trouble
for fish. Sealers -- most of whom work as fisherman in the summer
-- say all those seals are gorging on capelin, a smelt like species
that is the dietary mainstay of Newfoundland's all important cod.
Cod stocks off the Newfoundland coast are in a baffling decline,
and fisherman conclude that marauding seals are hogging the capelin
and starving out the cod." In addition, seals also carry highly
dangerous parasites that have dramatically reduced fish population
in some areas of the Pacific.
23. Urgency of Problem: LOW
24. Substitutes: LIKE
Many other products could be substituted for the seal.
However, in the end there is no real substitute for a seal.
"Native leaders also point out that the synthetic fibers animal-
rights activists urge on consumers are petroleum-derived, while fur
is a renewable and recyclable resource." Since then, seals have
increased in population from the fur bans, hunts could occur again
(especially if controlled) without endangering the species. Since
fur causes so much public outrage other seal products could be
sold. In fact, seal meat and blubber is becoming more popular in
the Arctic.
F. OTHER Factors
25. Culture: YES
It has been argued that Eskimo and Inuit cultures are being
lost through the preservation of the harp seal. These Arctic
communities have for centuries relied on seals for food, fuel and
clothing. In fact, in many ways the life and economy of the
Eskimos has been based on subsistence from the land and wildlife.
Yet, as times change and the world becomes more interconnected
subsistence cultures cannot to be left out of the world. "Today
the Eskimos have to pay for electricity and water, and they must
make contributions to social security." With this, the Eskimos
had to turn to the trade of sealskins. Often, the selling of seal
pelts provided a substantial portion of ones yearly income. Still,
with the public outrage from fur harvesting and the EC ban on fur
imports, demand for seal fur has dropped dramatically, and thus,
financially strapping the Arctic Communities. Yet, there is a
recent attempt to increase the demand for fur products by showing
pride in native cultures. Labels often read "Authentic Native
Design," with hopes "to inspire consumer pride about supporting
traditional native life styles." Clearly the ban on sealskins
has effected many arctic communities economically and culturally.
It is argued that "any culture, no matter where it is in the world,
cannot be stagnant...There has to be an economic link between that
culture and the rest of the world."
26. Trans-Boundary Issues: YES
27. Human Rights: YES
Many questions emerge as to whether the human rights of the
Arctic peoples are being violated. Clearly, the EEC import ban on
seal fur has destroyed the economic livelihood of many of these
cultures. Jobs and a way of life have been lost. Unfortunately,
public attitudes against the seal hunts has contributed to the idea
that the Eskimo is an inhumane barbarian who kills defenseless
seals. This is an unfair assessment because these arctic
communities live at subsistence levels where seal products have
many uses. In general, they have far more respect for the land and
its resources than those who criticize them.
28. Relevant Literature
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"Animal Welfare: New Appeal from European Parliament on Animal
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Section: 381.
"Animal Welfare Campaign Fights 'Humane' Animal Traps." Reuters,
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"Animal Welfare/Furs: ISO Not Competent to Judge the Cruelty of
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D3.4.
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