In the two years that she has openly defended Canadians on the east coast, Senator Hervieux-Payette has pointed up the absurd fanaticism and ideologies of organizations that oppose a sustainable seal harvest.

The battle against the seal hunt is only the tip of the iceberg that conceals a larger reality. First, the reality is organizations that make a very lucrative living by playing on people’s emotions. Second, the reality is organizations that promote vegetarianism and aim at all costs to prevent any consumption of animal meat, with some even trying to prevent the raising of animals.

For two years now, Senator Hervieux-Payette has entered into all these battles: press counterpoint following Ms. Bardot’s press conference in Ottawa in March 2006, press conference and counterdemonstration on Parliament Hill in March 2007, facilitated organization of the photo exhibit Phoque, la controverse [Seal, the controversy] by director Raoul Jomphe, (Montreal, September 2007), radio and television speeches, speeches before European parliamentary members, and recently, the French authorities. The Senator also supports the Seals And Sealing Coalition’s demands for international standards to control the seal harvest around the world. The Senator and the Coalition have a common objective: to cool down the debate and restore a scientific perspective on the issue.

That is why the Senator has unceasingly denounced the lies and misinformation. First, there was talk of cruelty. But the seal hunt uses methods that are approved by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. There was talk of massacres, but in 2008 the seals are three times as numerous as in the 1970s (the harvest is carried out with respect for conservation of the species). Campaigns were waged against the slaughter of baby seals, but the whitecoats (baby seals) have been protected since 1987 (seals may be killed once the mother abandons them, when they are considered adults). There was talk of animal rights, but ecosystem imbalance, which is inevitable when overpopulation occurs, was ignored. There was the threat of climate change, but scientists feel that, given the positive and negative impacts on species, it is impossible to draw any conclusions.

The seal is the best source of collagen and the purest omega-3: a natural product that helps prevent certain cancers. But because opponents have threatened boycotts, laboratories dare not invest in these products of the future.

The seal is also a means of subsistence for the Canadian Inuit, and provides a way for others that are living in modest conditions to live with dignity while respecting the environment. The Senator intends to pursue the battle to protect this defenceless Canadian minority against unscrupulous multinational organizations.

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