Tech

Against the Canadian seal hunt? There's an app for that

by Stephen Hui on February 29th, 2012 at 3:15 PM
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      Anything being dismissed as "misinformation" by the Stephen Harper government just might be worth a look-see.

      This time, the Conservative government's target is a free iPhone app put out by the Humane Society of the United States.

      Released earlier this month, the Protect Seals app promotes American restaurants and grocery stores that have committed to "shift key bits (and in many cases all) of their seafood purchasing away from Canada" until the country's commercial seal hunt comes to an end.

      The app states:

      The establishments listed on this app are doing one of three things: boycotting snow crabs from Canada, boycotting seafood from sealing provinces (Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Quebec), or boycotting all Canadian seafood. We welcome all of their efforts. Please thank them when you visit them!

      The people who kill seal pups for profit in Canada are commercial fishermen. By avoiding seafood they catch, we are sending a clear message to Canada: "We won’t buy while seals die."

      Users can also take a pledge to "not buy Canadian seafood".

      Since all of the businesses featured in the app's maps and lists are south of the border, the closest "seal-friendly" establishment to Vancouver is a Mexican joint called La Cantina in Blaine, Washington.

      Of course, there's always Metro Vancouver's vegan restaurants to dine at. They don't serve Canadian—or even American—seafood.

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      Comments

      8 Comments

      eff-off

      Feb 29, 2012 at 6:51pm

      Where's the "app" for those of us who are for the seal hunt?

      OmNomNom

      Mar 1, 2012 at 8:19am

      Seal hunting is an important socio-economic resource for most Inuit people in places such as Clyde River. It provides not only food, but much of their culture is based around its attainment and distribution. Not all seal hunting is bad!

      Lindsay O'Donnell

      Mar 1, 2012 at 10:39am

      I think when people refer to THE Seal Hunt, they're not referring to the smaller communities that rely on it for food but the large subsidized annual hunt that costs taxpayers more money then they will never get back. The hunt as an economic project has been failing for years, if our government truly cared about its reputation or the livelihoods of the people who rely on the seal hunt, they'd invest in a sustainable and more profitable endeavor.
      http://animalpsychology.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/the-economics-of-the-se...

      Kathryn Ayres

      Mar 4, 2012 at 12:09pm

      The seal hunt tarnishes Canada's image. Government would be wise to extend EI payments for the Maritime fishermen for the few weeks that this seal hunt covers. I'm sure many of the fishermen hate to do that killing but feel forced to. This subsidy Not to fish would be peanuts compared to the money brought in by an improved international profile.

      sunya

      Mar 4, 2012 at 9:40pm

      I need to see the end of the Seal Hunt... Before my small child comphrehends what a sick, violent, distured world we live in. Stop the Seal Hunt Canada..Shame, shame,shame!

      Becci

      Mar 5, 2012 at 12:54pm

      @OmNomNom

      Native hunters are not involved in the commercial seal hunt at all, so they aren't being targeted with the HSUS app. Native people hunt adult seals (a few thousand a year) and use the meat, fur, bones, etc.; commercial seal hunters go out to kill hundreds of thousands of babies every season and leave almost everything to rot on the ice. The market for seal products is so lousy that even pelts aren't selling very well; there are hundreds in storage waiting for someone to buy them.

      Such fuss

      Mar 6, 2012 at 12:24am

      The problem is that opposition to the seal hunt hinges largely on the fact that they are cute. Does that really constitute a criteria for this kind of campaign? Harp seals are far from being endangered, and there are are plenty of (less cute) animals in the world in real threat of extinction. Time for a reality check.

      redneck

      Mar 14, 2014 at 1:22pm

      There are enough seals to support a regulated seal hunt in Canada. The people that are against it are based on pure sentiment. Also, a few people may not be commercial sealers but hunt a few for the fur and for the sport. The ban would not be fair.