OTTAWA - A new report is urging the federal government to stand up to animal-rights activists and a growing backlash in Europe against the annual seal hunt on the ice floes off Canada's East Coast.
In a report endorsed by MPs from all parties, the Commons fisheries committee makes 18 recommendations, calling on Ottawa to boost its ability to defend the seal hunt abroad and implement new safety measures offshore.
The committee says the seal hunt is a sustainable and humane activity, and that it plays a crucial role in achieving and maintaining an ecological balance with other marine species.
The panel's Conservative chairman, Gerald Keddy, calls the seal hunt "an important part of the economic, cultural and social fabric of Canada's East Coast and the North,'' adding thousands rely on it as a primary income source.
The all-party committee also says anti-sealing campaigns have been characterized by "misinformation and appeals to emotions through the use of inflammatory images and language.''
Among its recommendations, the committee wants Ottawa to invite European legislators to examine the Canadian seal hunt, to include Inuit hunters in delegations supporting it abroad, and to increase the minimum distances observers are allowed to approach the hunt.
