I am not a Seal hunter and have no plans to be, but Seals are a prevelant species in that region, and should be hunted just a we hunt prevelant species here, such as deer and turkey. It should be noted that the Inuit, as well as residents of these isolated fishing communities do use seal as food too. In the great white north, it is a harsh enviorment and these villagers should be able to use whatever natural resources they have at their disposal to sustain themselves, provided the practice is sustainable. Are they cute? Is that what all the opposition is about? Gimme a break. The're a much needed commodity. For food, leather, fuel, and money. Leave these hunters alone.

is this primarily a recreational sport like deer and turkeys here?

or is this a commercial industry like commercial fishing boats?

A few years ago this magazine wrote an article on hunting dear with dogs in one of the southern states (AL or MS I believe) with the bottom line conclusion that even if we individually don’t hunt or fish a particular type of game or with a particular method of take, if we don’t support other hunters’ rights, when the Green Peace types come looking to end hunting our particular type of game of method of take, there won’t be any interested in supporting us.

Killing anything results in something being hurt and something dying. While I don’t support wanton infliction of pain we need to accept that it is a part of hunting and get on with things. This appears to be a viable hunting practice and provides at a minimum both economic and social/cultural cohesion for these communities, I support it.

They can seal hunt all they want, but walking casually up to a seal pup that isn't really even afraid of you and beating it with a club doesn't sound very appealing or sporting to me.

Steve, I go with shane in saying that it does not sound very sporty. Even if I was poor, if I had the means to kill the animal in a more ethical way, I would do so. Now if i did not, that is a different story. I understand they are trying to bring a source of income and maybe that can not be wasted on more "ethical" means of hunting. It is a source, and maybe the only real source of income for these people. Do I think that people other than the Inuits and native people should hunt seals? NO.

I would hope these seal hunters have 'evolved' enough over the many generations that've been doing it, to kill these seals as humanely as possible. Just like here in the USA, some are more 'evolved' than others and some are less humane and ethical.

It's pretty hard for me to criticize OR defend something I don't know much about.

But I do know that generally, I like sustainable hunting. And while clubbing makes a compelling photo for the antis, and clubbing babies of any species is pretty unappealing, I don't know that I can judge. My dad used to whack our 4-H rabbits on the back of the head with a lead pipe. It was quick and humane, and that's how we ate.

The statement in the Australian newspaper "The United States has banned Canadian seal products since 1972" is very misleading. It's like saying the Pope has banned Canadian condoms. It's alarming that even mainstream newspapers, when writing about the Canadian seal hunt, are often more interested in printing the propaganda of animal rights extremists than in printing unbiased facts.
I am from Canada and I can confirm that the Canadian seal hunt is not a sport hunt. It is for the people living in remote coastal communities and allows them to use a plentiful nearby resource to supplement their annual income.
Some good insight into the motivations behind the seal hunt protest can be found in this youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_gTBDFTXE0

Great comment Lou A I am a Canadian Inuk and I hunt eat and sew seals for a living. The meat is way healthier than any store bought farmed chicken or beef for my chemistry. I use the skin to sew kamiks or mitts and they are alot warmer in our cold harsh winters than alot of products I tried including polyester and cotton. I think that alot of the media about the animal is due to lack of information or closed minded people who do know anything about the world than their front poarches. Thank you for you comment and compliment.

I think that the reason that these people dislike seal hunting so much is because tv channels make them out to be cute and cuddly while in real life they can be quite aggresive. plus, it is a sustainable hunt and probably helps out fish stocks to some extent. In my opinion the seal hunts are no different than managment permits that you get in agricultural areas. So why don't they make a stink about that too?

Ddoty, you could say the same thing about rifle hunting for deer in some places, or in a fenced hunt area. You have to consider what is acceptable in other cultures. Just because you don't agree with the method doesn't mean that it is wrong.

It is acceptalbe to eat dogs and horses in some cultures, just because I don't agree with it, it doesn't make it wrong.

To put things in perspective, I beleive a club to the head is a much kinder death than any mother nature can give it.

It is not hunting but harvesting in it's most naked form.

I think if the baby seals looked like NYC rats there would be no protest.

Mark-1 do more research it is not a commercial thing for us Inuit it is more commercial more so for the non aboriginals in Newfoundland,
Ddoty do more research that is a method used by non Inuit bludgeoning.
We hunt were hunters and by the way INUITS? geee oh gee know your shiznit before you say anything about anything.