Are the sealers killing baby seals?
The Canadian government keeps insisting that only adult harp seals are killed. Yet, the following questions marked “#8 and #9” are taken verbatim from the DFO website: 8. How old must harp and hooded seals be before hunters can take them? Harp seals can be legally hunted once they have moulted their white coat, which occurs at about 12-14 days of age. However, they are not usually hunted until they reach the “beater” stage of development at around 25 days old. 9. Why do hunters target young animals? Young harp seals between approximately 3-4 weeks and one year of age are called beaters – so named because they tend to slap the water when they swim. Beater seals provide the most valuable pelts and market conditions are stronger for this type of pelt. Twelve to fourteen days is not the definition of an adult seal. Nor is 25 days (which is three-four weeks). The seals from birth to four weeks old are helpless and cannot escape or defend themselves from their killers. These are seal pups. S
