Arctic Hunt

4 Pages 1051 Words

As with many or all hunting initiatives in Canada the seal hunt is controlled and subsidized by the government. In an effort to control the seal population and prevent to ecosystem from being thrown off the government sees that they need to allow the hunt. To ensure that the hunt is performed to the correct size, the government subsidizes the hunt so things are made easier, and more plausable for "sealers" and commercial companies to access the frozen waters and beaches in proper numbers. Overpopulation of any particular animal can upset the balance of the ecosystem and even effect the economy. This is why the government supports the agenda of the annual hunt. If the seal population becomes to great, they will eat all the fish and kill the fishing industry. Furthermore with the fish gone, the seals then begin to starve and die off. This is an issue once more for the government because then they are required to reintroduce species of fish to the area, which is both expensive and time consuming. Thus the economy suffers again. For the government to turn a blind eye to this would be perilous, which is why the involve themselves.
Methods of the seal hunters is generally simple, effective, and traditional. They use various methods, most classic of all is clubbing. The hunter uses a club similar to a baseball bat to simply beat the baby seal to death. This does not always result in instant death. Another tool they use is a large pike with a hook on the end. Used for seperateing and stabbing the seals, it is more effective in landing a lethal blow than the clubbing method. Thirdly, and most simply and modern, is some of the sealers will just simply shoot the seal with a gun. However non-traditional, this is a very effective means of ensuring the pup is no longer alive when the next steps begin. After killing the seal, the hunter will use a hooking system to hook and drag his kill from the icey waters, or over to a safe locati...