Seal Hunting — Moral Problem or Indigenous Way of Life?
Seal hunting should be considered as a important part of Inuit community despite being portrayed as a cruel practice.
People have different views about seal hunting in Canada, and it seems to be neither right nor wrong. It is always a serious environmental problem, and animal right activists claim that hunting for seals is a cruel activity. In fact, seal hunting has been a long-lasting tradition practice of Indigenous communities in Canada, which is difficult to discard. In the articles The moral problem with commercial seal hunting by Andy Butterworth and The hunt Canada loves: Why seal clubbing will never die by Tristin Hopper, we are able to see both viewpoints on seal hunting. While Butterworth’s article only focus on explaining why seal hunting is a moral problem, Tristin’s article is more convincing by successfully clarifying humane practices in seal hunting and portraying it as an Indigenous traditional way of life.
Butterworth’s observation of seal hunting
In the article The moral problem with commercial seal hunting, published in Nature journal of science, Andy Butterworth discusses his point of view about commercial seal hunting which is always a subject of debate in Canada. He explores the moral problem of this act as a human and a scientist. To begin, he presents actual number of young seals that have been hunted in the East Coast of Canada in the end of 2014 to show how fast the hunting pace is. According to him, seal hunting in Canada is the world’s largest hunt of marine mammals. Seal products such as skin and oil are nutritionally valuable and sold globally. However, these products have been banned in Europe since 2009 to protect public moral. Butterworth personally thinks that the ban on seal’s products in Europe should remain the same. From his own observation in real life, seal hunting is bloody and terrifying. He describes how seal pups are “shot”, “clubbed” and “dragged” during the hunt. What concerns him is that this type of hunting is hard to manage because it happens across a large area, and the injured animals are hooked and taken before checking for unconsciousness by the hunters. Furthermore, Butterworth compares seal to land animals to show readers how cruel this hunt is.
The ban on seal products
The EU ban on seal’s product is based on moral grounds because science illustrates that seals are not immediately dead after being shot, and they are “unchecked” before being killed by clubbing. Besides, some seals are killed with multiple shooting and clubbing, and the scene is described as distressed and horrible. In regards to the EU ban, Butterworth further mentions how the appeal from Canada and Norway is not about poor welfare of seals. In fact, the appeal challenges more about trade and unfair restriction of seal’s products. As a human and as a veterinary scientist, Andy Butterworth emphasizes that seal hunting in Canada is a serious welfare concern. In his opinion, the way seals are treated presents a nation’s moral progress.
Andy Butterworth’s description of seal hunting is true, but I disagree on the way he portrays seal hunting as cruel and inhumane to readers.
From his own observation, Butterworth allows readers to understand why seal hunting is a cruel practice:
“Mammal regulations allow hunters to retrieve injured animals from the ice using the hooked gaffs before they have been checked for unconsciousness. […]. If what I have witnessed being done to a young seal was done to a horse or a dog, there is little doubt that it would be labelled as cruel”.
The comparison
Butterworth uses emotional appeal by mentioning land animals which is dog and horse to make a contrast to seals. This is an effective way to raise reader’s sympathy toward seals because dog and horse are known as pets. However, I disagree with him on how he mentions them here. It would be better if he uses another example of land-animals that people hunt instead of pets like horse and dog. It is undoubtedly cruel if people treat pets like how seal hunters treat seal; however, seals are not pet. Besides, seals live in natural environment, and people can hunt them for skin and oil. Butterworth’s tone in this quotation seems biased towards his agreement on banning commercial seal hunting which considers seal hunting as a brutal practice to animals than a hunting activity. The way Butterworth portrays how injured seals are retrieved is right, but his comparison here is not convincing. Some may support Butterworth’s idea that seal hunting is cruel, and seals are treated poorly compare to land animals; but people should recognize seals as animals that people from Indigenous community in Canada are given permission to hunt. Overall, Butterworth’ use of emotional appeal helps readers understand why seal hunting is cruel; however, his way of explaining the cruelty is biased.
Seal hunting as a traditional Inuit practice
In contrast to Andy Butterworth, Tristin Hopper observes seal hunting in a different view. In her article The hunt Canada loves: Why seal clubbing will never die, published on National Post. Tristin Hopper effectively explains the significance of seal hunting to Indigenous community and why this act is still happening despite the huge protest from animal right activists. She thinks killing seals will never stop in Canada because it is Indigenous communities’ tradition, and seals have been important natural resources to them for a long time. The writer acknowledges seal hunting as a topic of debate because this activity is criticized and downgraded by activists every seal hunting season, and seal hunters are even called “baby-killers” by animal activists. According to Hopper, both European Union or the International Fund for Animal Welfare want to stop commercial seal hunting, and the Inuit can only hunt seals for their subsistence.
The misinformation of seal hunting
Seal products were banned by the EU in 1983, and this leads to drastically decrease in seal hunting revenues and high suicide rates in the region. Furthermore, Hopper explains that there is misinformation about seal hunting. Most of seal hunters are Inuk from Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Inuit never kill seal pups for white coats. Eventually, the term “baby seals” used to describe the products from seal hunting is not true. Moreover, Hopper discusses about how seal hunting is more humane than people think. She explains that clubbing of seal skulls is considered cruel and unacceptable, but in fact it is the way to make sure the seal is killed instantly. Despite improvement in humane practices, proposals for controlled seal hunting were still rejected by the EU. It has been proved that the population of seals still remains fine in Canada, and the explosion of their population doesn’t affect the cod stocks.
Besides, Newfoundlanders consume seal’s meat although there is no marketplace for this organic and fresh type of meat. Moreover, there are more humane practices in seal hunting compare to some land animal farms. Overall, although seal hunting is the issue that is difficult to agree; however, Canada can never stop seal hunting because it is Indigenous communities’ tradition, and seals have been their important natural resources for survival and sustenance.
Hopper’s descriptive language
In The hunt Canada loves: Why seal clubbing will never die, Tristin Hopper successfully explains why seal hunting in Canada will never stop. By using descriptive language, she challenges readers to understand that there are humane practices in the way Inuit hunt for seals.
“A running, club-wielding hunter looks more craven, which is probably why the image is an anti-sealing favorite […] Step one is “stunning” when the seal is usually hit with a bullet to the head. Steps two and three then involve ensuring that the animal is dead by crushing its skull and severing key arteries”.
Hopper uses descriptive details to visualize the humane way of hunting seals. The writer helps readers to understand that there is misinformation about seal hunting, and therefore emphasize that the image animal activists use to fight against seal hunters cannot define how seal hunting really is. By illustrates the ‘three-step’ process including “stunning”, “ensuring”, “crushing”, Hopper encourages readers to understand that seal hunting can’t be considered cruel like how anti-seal hunt videos usually presents. In contrast to Andy Butterworth’s sketchy description of seal hunting: “The pups are either shot from boats, or clubbed with a wooden bat or an iron-tipped pole”, Hopper’s use of descriptive details is effective, and it helps readers to recognize what seal hunting really is. Although some may challenge Hopper’s view that there are humane practices in seal hunting, her explanation is informative and unbiased. In conclusion, Hopper’s use of descriptive language illustrates how people hunt seals accurately, and it helps readers to realize that Inuit’s seal hunters are not just animal killers.
Final Opinions
Seal hunting has been portrayed as a moral problem, but it is proved that there are still humane practices in seal hunting. Despite being considered bloody and cruel, seal hunting cannot be stopped, for seals are the natural resources Indigenous people hunt as a traditional practice. It is really difficult to judge whether hunt for seals is right or wrong, but it is significant to understand that there are people depend on it to nourish, survive and develop their community.
