Harp seals are part of our eco system and are major predators on fish and crustaceans. In turn they are hunted by man and have been since the days of the Aboriginal (Inuit and Indian) occupation of these islands. That hunt continued when Europeans first landed here and continues today. For Aboriginals in time past and for inhabitants of the islands today it was/is a part of their economic survival

Despite the reduced size of the ground fish stocks seals stocks are very healthy and offer the fishermen of the Islands an alternative resource in the spring of the year when the work is most needed. The wide variety of products available from the sealing activity not only employs fishermen but also many others on the islands ranging from crafts people to chefs in restaurants to tourism operators and so on. 

The phocids (seals lacking external ears) family of pinnipeds (ie fin-shaped feet) includes sea lions and walrus. There are nearly twenty species of phocids around the world (monk seal, elephant seal, Ross seal, crabeater seal, leopard seal, Weddell seal, seal of Siberia, taped seal ...). In Canada, bearded seals and ringed seals frequent the waters above the outskirts of northern Quebec and are almost exclusively hunted by the Inuit.

For decades Animal rights groups, NOT animal welfare groups, have engaged in a massive propaganda campaign to try and convince western urbanites that killing seals is somehow “wrong”. These multi million dollar groups, mostly headquartered in the United States, have spread a series of misleading fictions and outright lies in order to further their goal of ending man’s use of animals: any animal. Ending the seal hunt is not their objective it is merely the tactic they use to further their goal, which is to impose their view, held by a small minority of western peoples, u

Over the years, many films and documentaries produced on the hunt so here are a few of those productions.

The Magdalen Islands Seal Hunters Association ,associated with many key people of the seal industry , put at the disposal of journalists and medias  (Radio, Television, Internet)  A serie of photos, professionally produced video shoots, our official presss releases and a serie of factual documents about the seal hunt translated in many languages