Sealing in Nunavut
For thousands of years, seals have been a vital resource for Inuit survival in a very demanding environment. The seal is used for food, clothing, and arts and crafts. Very little is wasted. Seal hunting has always been a central foundation of Inuit culture, sustaining traditional sharing customs, a special knowledge of the seal resource and its ecosystem, and the passing on of skills and values from elders to youth.
Seal skins are used first for domestic "home" use for clothing, arts and crafts. Surplus skins are
sold commercially. Prices have increased steadily over the past 10 years as people in many parts of the world discover the beauty and utility of Nunavut
ringed seal skins for fashion garments and other accessories.
The cash value of seal skins as by-products of the hunt is important to hunters for financing the cost of harvesting supplies and
equipment necessary to sustain land-based activities and expose Inuit youth to the traditional lifestyle.
Nunavut is a staunch supporter of animal-welfare legislation, but cannot accept the fund-raising rhetoric of radical animal-rights organizations in the name
of true environmentalism. The animal-rights protest industry is part of the problem insofar as it misrepresents nature and alienates humankind from natural
ecosystems. Environmentalism must be a science, not a fundamentalist religion that attacks other cultures and livelihoods.
Any true and sustainable conservation initiative must respect a number of key issues: the critical balance of nature, the rights of sovereign nations, and the
value of cultural diversity.
http://www.sealingnunavut.ca/animalrights.htm
