Seal-hunt supporters have got their numbers wrong

Trevor Taylor, minister of fisheries and aquaculture for Newfoundland and Labrador, referred to IFAW's efforts to raise funds in donations on the back of the seal hunt (‘Seal hunters hit back over trade attack', 4-11 April). In fact, the organisation with 15 offices and two million supporters worldwide spends 21.5% of its total campaign budget fighting the commercial seal hunt.
In 2006, the seal campaign was the second largest international expense after the protection of whales. The annual financial report is available on the organisation's website www.ifaw.org.
The minister also stresses that killing seal pups has been illegal for 20 years. In fact, although it is prohibited to kill baby seals below 12 days of age and despite their life expectancy of about 35 years, 98% of the killed seals are pups below three months of age. Canada has allowed more than one million seals to be killed in the past three years.
Following the closure of the US market for all seal-derived products in 1973, the EU remains (although marginal) the main market for these products. In the last 20 years, MPs and journalists have witnessed the cruelty of the hunt. Their reports caused a public outcry in many countries.
Therefore, the governments of Mexico, Croatia, Italy and Belgium recently introduced national bans on seal products. Others such as the Netherlands and Germany have been following the example. Last year, the European Parliament and the Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted resolutions calling for the closure of the European market for seal products.
The cruelty of the hunt is widely documented but for the economy of Canada it is of minor importance. The Economist reported recently that the seal hunt in Canada “benefits only 6,000 people, or about 1% of the province's [Newfoundland] population”.

Gaia Angelini
IFAW
Brussels