Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I guess we are managing the seal hunt well. Anti-hunters? Rage away...

Harp seal quota set at 400,000 off east coast, prompting anti-hunt outrage.

The quota for the harp seal hunt off Canada's east coast this spring has been set at 400,000 animals by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.The total allowable catch for hooded seals will be 8,200, some of it rolled over from last year." We said we'd stay with what the scientists recommended," said Frank Pinhorn, executive director of the Canadian Sealers Association. "They were recommending between 300,000 and 500,000 so we took the middle of the road."

Pinhorn said the association expects an improvement in markets this year with sales as high as 120,000 pelts, roughly double last year's figure of 68,000.The industry is hoping that the Asian market, especially China, will increase its purchase of seal products, but Pinhorn said that might not happen for another year or two.

Fishermen in the Magdalen Islands are looking to collect seal heart valves for medical research and meat for the restaurant trade as part of the developmental quota allocation of 20,000 seals."That's there to allow for product development and market penetration, whatever you want to call it," said Pinhorn. "But its for a limited time."

Rebecca Aldworth, Canadian director of Human Society International, called the hunt irresponsible, claiming that this year's numbers are the highest since quota management was introduced in 1971. "It's not supported by science. This is regional politics being played by (Prime Minister) Stephen Harper in advance of an election," she said. Aldworth said the lack of ice cover this year means a lot of seal pups will drown, underscoring the need to call off the hunt." What this will be in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is a slaughter of the survivors," she said.

Sea ice conditions will determine when fishermen begin hunting in areas that include the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and the much larger hunt on the Front off northern Newfoundland.

Stephen Harper, eh? Oh, the irony...

Reminds me of a joke.

Two baby seals walked into a club....

400,000

The libs can cry all they want, their fate is sealed...

GROAN!

But damn funny!

reminds me of another joke,,
what do baby seals and Tiger Woods have in common?


they both get beat by Norwiegons.....

any non-resident tags? can I bring my own Louisville Slugger? Do aluminum bats way over-penetrate?

Looks like older seals are shot, younger ones by club:


4) Why do they kill them with clubs? Why not use bullets?

A: Most of the younger seals are killed with clubs or hakapiks in order to avoid damage to their pelts with a bullet hole. This would reduce the value of the pelt.

Since older seals are faster, more aggressive, and can swim, most are shot at a distance with high powered rifles to limit their ability to escape. Since sealers shoot for the head to avoid damage to the pelt, and this is a difficult shot, many seals are only wounded by the first gunshot. Sealers will often try to club a wounded seal, but these wounded seals will head for the nearest open water where they often will simply slip away under the ice and perish"



Looks like they need better bullets.....


Allen

can't we just club them?

It's not a hunt.

I'd like to try some seal meat, one of these days. JMO, Dutch.

Now if we could just get a seal hunt going on Canada's West Coast...that would cause a few spilled lattes in Vancouver! Monashee

Will all the righthanded shooters who didn't get this right off the bat, raise their hands.

Ok, now all the lefthanded shooters who didn't get it...

Just as I thought...more righthanded shooters raised their hands.

Alaska natives just whack them with .22s. By the way, seal oil is very good with dried salmon.

Brian,

Where could I get a seal fur lined jacket?...jim

Warranty void if seal broken...

Arrrgh! The worst crap I ever ate!

New shirts for the hunt