Put-upon

Canada, a marine country of great size, with the Pacific Ocean on its West Coast, the Atlantic on its East, and the Arctic at the top of its geographic formation, was traditionally, among other of its fundamental occupations as a nation, a fishing-endowed country. Salmon on the West Coast, Cod on the East Coast. Both the salmon and the cod fisheries have been in a state of collapse. Canada has, in theory, sovereignty over a 200-mile-limit from its shores. The country processed the fish its fisherfolk caught on land, in fish-processing plants.

Other fishing nations of the world who developed fishing fleets to the point where their fleet was equipped with vessels incorporating processing plants within them, fished offshore, and on many occasions, within the 200-mile limit. Portugal, Spain, Russia, Panama, Japan, the U.S. and other countries sent their trawlers and factory-ships, unlicensed to fish inside the 200-mile limit, sometimes with illegal nets and undersized mesh, to vacuum the oceans of fish. Now the cod fisheries are gone, and salmon rarely seen in sufficient quantities for commercial fishing.

The latest assault on Canada's sovereign natural resource harvesting is the seal hunt. Adverse publicity in the past called an end to whitecoat (harp seal pup) harvesting, their cute little white shapes with enormous eyes beseeching life. Enormous efforts on the part of activists claimed victory in that battle. Now, after years of threatening to impose an embargo on all seal products, the European Union has finally voted to launch a ban on seal products entirely. Effectively putting sealers on the East Coast out of business.

The EU's 27 member nations succumbed to the energetic and purposeful lobbying of animal rights groups, with the European Parliament voting 550 to 49 in Strasbourg to impose a ban on seal product imports; pelts, oil and meat. Although the vote must still be ratified by individual European governments before becoming law, it would appear that there is no reason now to believe that it will not pass handily. This represents, needless to say, a total capitulation to the demands of animal rights activists.

The point of all of this is rather pointless. If we humans are to continue nourishing ourselves by consuming fish and meat and poultry where is the rationale for banning the seal hunt? As it is practised today it represents a humane and sustainable hunt. Little different, really, than raising cattle or sheep or hogs or chickens for human consumption. And since most populations eat fish and meat, it falls short of ethical and even treatment to isolate the seal hunt for special treatment.