Ottawa, Ontario, December 17, 2013  –  Once again this year, celebrities are trying to get media
attention at the expense of coastal communities and the livelihoods of thousands of Canadians who rely
on the seal hunt. Sealing in Newfoundland, Quebec, Nunavut or elsewhere in Canada is not for sale for
any price.

“This industry’s value cannot be simply calculated like the purchase of a property or cost of a Hollywood
makeover,” says Dion Dakins, spokesperson for the Seals and Sealing Network. “The hunting of seals has
an important socio-economic value and provides an ecosystem service to the fishing sector.”

7.3 million harp seals eat over 15 times more fish than the entire East Coast fishing fleet catches. The
2012 hunt alone saved the east coast fishery $360 million in fish resources that otherwise would have
been lost to seals. In addition, there are thousands of sealers, truck drivers, supply shop owners, plant
workers, furriers, chefs, Omega 3 producers and distributors whose livelihoods rely on the seal hunt.

“We are willing to work with any and all parties with regard to improving animal welfare standards, as
evident by changes we helped make to the Marine Mammals Regulations,” said Eldred Woodford,
President of the Canadian Sealers Association. “However, the people involved in today’s “media stunt”
are not interested in animal welfare, they are only interested in raising money for their misguided cause
on the backs of Canadians living in coastal communities.”

 

Seals and Sealing Network