To Minister Ron Chisholm, Minister Gail Shea, Premier Rodney MacDonald and Prime Minister Stephen Harper:

I am deeply opposed to the cruel and unnecessary slaughter of grey seal pups that occurs in Nova Scotia each year, and am greatly concerned by past comments made by Fisheries Minister Ron Chisholm regarding expanding the grey seal hunt and opening Sable Island to sealers.

Each year Nova Scotia fishermen kill thousands of grey seal pups in their nursery grounds, using methods condemned by the EFSA in its Report 'Animal Welfare Aspects of the Killing and Skinning of Seals' submitted to the European Commission two years ago. These methods include herding and clubbing thick-skulled animals with wooden bats. Two years ago a DFO official admitted to a member of the Atlantic Canadian Anti-Sealing Coalition that the commercial grey seal hunt was not monitored by DFO and, consequently, DFO did not know if the pups were being killed humanely or how many pups the sealers were actually killing. He subsequently confirmed these statements to a member of the Animal Alliance of Canada. This year, DFO officials made similar statements, advising that the killing is monitored only periodically, as it is not necessary or feasible to have DFO present to monitor the killing at all times.

In February of 2008, fishermen from Cape Breton were allowed access to Hay Island, part of the Scaterie Island Protected Wilderness Area where they slaughtered 1,261 grey seal pups using crude wooden bats and boxcutters. The slaughter on Hay Island marked the first time the killing of grey seal pups in Nova Scotia was witnessed and documented by a third party. Humane Society International Canada, Atlantic Canadian Anti-Sealing Coalition and Humane Society International UK were present on the island and distributed to the public videotape evidence of the cruelty involved in the grey seal hunt. This event is now being watched by the international community. Fishermen were permitted access to Hay Island again in 2009 to bludgeon 200 grey seal pups to be shown as fabric swatches to potential buyers.

Minister Chisholm has admitted there is no scientific evidence to suggest that killing seals will aid in groundfish stock recovery and his claims that seals must be killed to protect groundfish stocks are based on merely what he has been told by a handful of fishermen. DFO's own scientists say there is no direct evidence that seals negatively impact cod stocks, and they simply do not know if reducing seal populations will aid in cod recovery. Seals eat a variety of fish, most of which are not commercially fished in Canada. Cod accounts for only 2% of their diet. In fact, seals eat predators of cod, which is beneficial to cod, not detrimental. Minister Chisholm's comments contradict DFO's claims that the seal hunt takes a "precautionary approach based on sound conservation principles", and that the annual seal hunt is "based on solid science that is reviewed by scientists from Canada, the United States and Europe".

Sable Island is a protected area that is the largest breeding colony of grey seals in the world. Wildlife preserves and protected wilderness areas belong to ALL Nova Scotians, not just a handful of fishermen, whose real intention is to cull seals which they claim eat "their" fish.

The "hunting" of grey seals is unnecessary, scientifically unsound and demonstrably cruel, and so must be abolished.

On May 5, 2009 the European Parliament voted with an overwhelming majority to ban the trade of seal products within the European Union. Europe is a crucial market and the loss will be devastating to the Canadian sealing industry. The Canadian government has vowed to find new markets, but no such markets exist.

Based on the above, I vehemently oppose any expansion of the grey seal hunt, and any attempt to allow fishermen access to Sable Island to kill grey seals. Further, I condemn any attempt by the government to strip Hay Island of its protected wilderness area designation and/or any further killing of pups on that island. I remind the Canadian government that the majority of Canadians oppose the cruel and unnecessary killing of seals and that it has an obligation to respect the wishes of its citizens. In light of the above, I urge the governments of Nova Scotia and Canada to abolish the inhumane and unnecessary slaughter of grey seals in Nova Scotia.

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