Survey says: Most Canadians okay with seal hunt

This is one of those times when I’m truly proud to be a Canadian, like when Crosby and the lads clinched men’s hockey gold at the recent Vancouver Olympics. Responding to a recent survey conducted for the Fur Institute of Canada, 63% of us of Canucks revealed we’re cool with the commercial seal hunt.

Why does this make me proud? The majority of Canadians clearly understand and support the rationale for the hunt, despite the aggressive tactics of the anti-hunting lobby. And this at a time when the European Community has all but isolated Canada on the issue. The survey results also suggest to me that most Canadians are comfortable with hunting itself.

Conducted by TNS Canadian Facts, the Seals and Sealing Network Study found that two out of three Canadians accept commercial sealing as long as it’s humane and the species is not endangered. And almost 85% of Canadians agree that seals should be hunted as a wildlife management tool. The survey included more than 1,000 adults.

“We are pleased to see that, despite the hype by animal-rights groups about national opposition to seal hunting, only a small fraction of Canadians oppose the activity outright,” says Rob Cahill, Executive Director of the Fur Institute.

In fact, the survey found that more Canadians—some 30 per cent—consider seal hunters and fishermen to be the most credible sources of information concerning the hunt; only 20 per cent said they trusted animal activists more, while 21 per cent preferred to believe government officials.

Interestingly, this acceptance of the hunt comes despite the fact most Canadians are apparently unaware that the harp seal population has exploded from under 3 million in the early 1980s to almost 7 million today. Indeed, the survey revealed that 75 per cent of Canadians think the seal population is much lower than it actually is.

All in all, it was an illuminating survey, but I would have like to have seen the responses to one more question: Would you eat seal meat?

I, for one, am game.