I have been meaning to write commentary on the recent trade agreement over seal products between China and Canada but felt an added urgency this past weekend. Myself and others travelled down to Buffalo to participate in a fur demo and every single time any of us mentioned that we were from Canada the first question from the mouths of other demonstrators was, “What is going on with the seal hunt?” It was strange to see people who are so close to us geographically identify the issue as a “Canadian” issue and it was the first time that I somehow felt responsibility for a national identity in regards to animal exploitation. In the end though, what I told them and what I will write here is I think a realistic and optimistic view of a brutal industry. Some saw the recent trade agreement in a negative light, I think it’s a marriage that is based upon so many externals that it will be nearly impossible to hold.

First, the trade agreement with China symbolizes that the Canadian Government as well as the Fur/Seal Industry has given up on the hopes of reversing the EU Seal Product Ban. That means two of the worlds largest economies, the United States and the European Union, refuse to deal in seal products. In total this means the market has shrunk, and continues to shrink, considerably.

There is another thing which this deal signals, and that is the move towards “seal meat.” Asian countries currently hold the market for seal meat products and this deal reflects the fact that this industry is now going to have re-sell itself and centre on a less lucrative product. Seal meat markets are considerably lower than fashion markets. Not only has the market completely shrunk, but now the ceiling selling price will come down as well. This means more subsidies, which are already unpopular and it also means trying to peddle a product that the vast majority of Canadians wouldn’t eat. (The Government has been doing press stunts for the last couple of years in order to push seal meat as a delicacy, so far to no avail.)

The deal is also significant in that in further constricts our countries ability to ban/criticize products come back across from China and into Canada. As it pertains to animal enterprise, the first thing that comes to mind is the cat/dog fur trade. Labeling laws have just recently been passed in the United States and there is significant pressure to pass similar laws in Canada. This creates a massive problem. With little to no market we are dependent upon the Chinese market in order to keep the seal hunt on life support, any disruption in trade over animal products be it cat/dog/shark, etc. (or concerns over human rights) will significantly strain our ability to continue that. What does this mean for the Government? It means they have placed their support behind an industry that needs subsidies to survive, an industry that is inherently cruel, an industry that the majority of Canadians oppose, an industry which hinges on our importation of cat and dog fur and an industry that now also must re-invent its “product” with a lower selling point.

For activists what does this mean? All of these externals, as they add up, create more leverage points for those who protest the seal hunt. With such reliance on the Chinese Market, symbolic legislation like the Truth in Labeling, could potentially land the death blow. Although the majority of Canadians oppose the Seal Hunt, a much larger number oppose the sale of cat and dog fur. Speciesism, the ascription of different worth based upon species membership, could ironically be the mirror, which when held up, proves too hideous for Canadians to further tolerate.

Optimism is at a high when Chinese Animal Rights groups are already actively working against this “dump.” An impressive press campaign met the announcement and it illustrates the massive problem for those who are going to have to try to create a demand for this product out of thin air.

Another source of optimism is China’s recent attempts to appear animal-friendly, banning animal circuses and cracking down upon state run zoos. Will China buckle under the same moral outrage that the EU eventually caved to? Typically most would balk at the suggestion that China would listen to animal advocacy groups, however, the ironic timing of these announcements would suggest otherwise.

For those on the ground, if you have a Conservative MP in your riding then please re-double your efforts. Write/Call them and voice your concerns. If they don’t want to enter into a dialogue then start crafting plans to protest their offices and start press campaigns to draw light to this issue. Talk about their unwillingness to listen to their constituency, talk about the trade in cat and dog fur, talk about subsidies. Whatever you do, don’t be silent about the issue! With each move over the past year the Canadian Government has left itself more and more vulnerable in it’s defense of this industry. Keep it up!

xo,
Dylan