Canada

Each created thing is adapted to the place for which it was intended.
Charles Darwin

And this is my quest, a fluffy white ball with two black eyes. Each year 250,000 harp seals migrate from Greenland to bear their young on the ice floes that surround the Magdalen Islands. For decades the pups were hunted for their immaculate white fur to make coats for European well-to-do. They were clubbed in the head and skinned, blood and brains spilled in full view of terrified mother seals. Often the pups were only stunned, and cried out as they were skinned alive, their cries ignored by the pitiless sealers.

In the 1980's a long sought miracle happened. Led by Brian Davies and his friends at the International Fund For Animal Welfare, groups of protesters gathered on the ice during the March hunt. They brought with them cameras and cans of green spray paint. At great risk of harm (some were), they filmed the horrific slaughter and sprayed as many pups as they could with the paint, rendering their fur worthless. Many pups were killed anyway. Photos and videos of the hunt were circulated worldwide. An angry public raised an outcry and Europe, the principle market, issued a ban on the import of harp seal fur. After a long and bitter struggle a cruel industry was dead.

A decade later ecotourism groups began visiting the Maggies, toting only cameras. I have joined the crowd. Our guides are the former seal hunters, employed again by taking us out on the ice they know so well. Win-Win!

A sad afterword! To make all of this possible visitors were taken out on the ice in helicopters to see the seals. The choppers landed on the thick, stable ice without concerns for many years. Unfortunately this is no longer possible as climate change has created an unstable pack ice. Since 2013 it has not been safe for the helicopters to land. The once thriving ecotourism industry has collapsed as a result and the seal hunt has resumed. The pelts are going to China these days. No surprise there. Lose-lose (time to get out the spray paint again.).

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Each created thing is adapted to the place for which it was intended. Charles Darwin And this is my quest, a fluffy white ball with two black eyes. Each year 250,000 harp seals migrate from Greenland to bear their young on the ice floes that surround the Magdalen Islands. For decades the pups were hunted for their immaculate white fur to make coats for European well-to-do. They were clubbed in the head and skinned, blood and brains spilled in full view of terrified mother seals. Often the pups were only stunned, and cried out as they were skinned alive, their cries ignored by the pitiless sealers. In the 1980's a long sought miracle happened. Led by Brian Davies and his friends at the International Fund For Animal Welfare, groups of protesters gathered on the ice during the March hunt. They brought with them cameras and cans of green spray paint. At great risk of harm (some were), they filmed the horrific slaughter and sprayed as many pups as they could with the paint, rendering their fur worthless. Many pups were killed anyway. Photos and videos of the hunt were circulated worldwide. An angry public raised an outcry and Europe, the principle market, issued a ban on the import of harp seal fur. After a long and bitter struggle a cruel industry was dead. A decade later ecotourism groups began visiting the Maggies, toting only cameras. I have joined the crowd. Our guides are the former seal hunters, employed again by taking us out on the ice they know so well. Win-Win! A sad afterword! To make all of this possible visitors were taken out on the ice in helicopters to see the seals. The choppers landed on the thick, stable ice without concerns for many years. Unfortunately this is no longer possible as climate change has created an unstable pack ice. Since 2013 it has not been safe for the helicopters to land. The once thriving ecotourism industry has collapsed as a result and the seal hunt has resumed. The pelts are going to China these days. No surprise there. Lose-lose (time to get out the spray paint again.). .

© Danny Kimberlin 2015