First off I am not going to say that I am necessarily for the seal hunt but I would just like to get some facts straight.

I also am a supporter of animal rights but there is always the question of what is right.

First off I would like to know if you are getting your information from PETA. Much of their information is incorrect and is used to incite pity, however this undermines their cause as a lot of it is simply sensationalised and reduces their credibility as activists. Or perhaps the Humane Society of the United States who although some of their information is factual is also so opinionated that it influences your opinion (yes they hire people who are experts at turning a phrase every business… woops I mean activist group, does)?  

On your first point the numbers you have mentioned are indeed accurate and I can tell you have put some research into this (well done most people don’t) however you make it seem like there is a fixed number of seals, as the number hunted allowed goes up so does the population of the seals. It is not decreasing the number of seals from the year before it simply is keeping it at a balance.  

The sticks you mention are called hakapik: a heavy wooden club with a hammer head and metal hook on the end. The hakapik is used because of its efficiency; the animal can be killed quickly without damage to its pelt. The hammer head is used to crush the skull, while the hook is used to move the carcass. Regulations demand that you use one if the firearm does not entirely kill the animal it generally is a more humane way to kill them due to the development of their skulls at the time (soft). Speaking of age Whitecoats are newborn harp seals. Most Canadians can recall pictures of whitecoated seal pups being clubbed. The images were so inflammatory that Canada banned all hunting of whitecoats and bluebacks (otherwise known as hooded seals) in 1987.

You'd never know that from some of the anti-sealing groups that still prominently display pictures of whitecoats on their websites and in fundraising materials. One site even features a downloadable video of people hugging whitecoats. The reality is that whitecoats can't be hunted anymore.

It's also true that young harp seals lose their white coats (and their protection) at about 12 to 14 days of age. After that, they're fair game for hunters, although they're usually about 25 days old before they're hunted. Most harp seals taken are under the age of three months. Young yes, whitecoats no.

Notice the word I used – carcass – the seal is dead. Kicking is not used and would not be effective in the slightest due to the fat content of the seal. In other words no they do not skin the seals live, nor do they do anything with them while the seal has any conscious at all.  Have you ever skinned anything? I have never skinned something alive and never would but it’s hard enough dead – there would be no point and therefore it makes no sense on an economic level time wasted is money wasted. As well as this Regarding the "skinning alive" charge, the appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes a seal may appear to be moving after it has been killed. However, seals have a swimming reflex that is active, even after death. This reflex falsely appears as though the animal is still alive when it is clearly dead — similar to the reflex in chickens or fish.

Your point on the veterinarians is crock, I am sorry but people are not doing this all for fun ( of course some enjoy it, hunting is a social activity) but it is a business there are no veterinarians checking every seal to see whether or not it was skinned alive or dead and you cannot arrive at any sort of realistic or reliable statistic without at least the body of every seal killed. Even then the information would not be infallible.

I am glad that at the end you added the part about Canadian culture because yes it is important but as for our reputation in the world for being “peace loving” and all that the only reason the European Union decided against seal imports from Canada was because of the bad press, until then they had been the recipients of up to 25% of our exports.

No I don’t hunt but neither am I a vegetarian. I love my pets they are my family but they are not human and I will not treat them as such. I like to know the good and the bad but I dislike sensationalism on either side. And I am for the animals, I despise unnecessary torture and if the seal hunts were that bad I too would be up in arms. Thank you for your time.