The controversy around Sealing

One cannot imagine it: adult males running around with clubs killing young or newborn baby seals! It sounds too far-fetched to be true. This is why there was so much controversy around seal culling.  In 1978 there were even threats to sue the Minister of Economic Affairs for cruelty to animals when he granted a private concession for the culling of seals in False bay.  At the same time the SPCA recognised that clubbing was the "most humane way" to kill these pups.  Their partly-formed brain cases are scant protection against a club, so that the animals die instantly. So there is no difference in clubbing them or shooting them with a gun... both have the same direct effect...

A picture history lesson of clubbing and sealing, courtesy an extensive Internet search:

However "humane" it is deemed to be, it doesn't sit or sound right...

Sealing in the Cape is as old as the Cape herself. Even older... because in 1610 (more or less 40 years before Jan van Riebeeck reached the Cape) the Dutch killed 45 000 seals near the Cape of Good Hope. To be honest, it was these Dutch who - in the first years of the Cape colony - destroyed most of the seal colonies in the Cape. The French “sealers” were responsible for the slaughter of seals on the islands near Saldanha Bay and the English also had their hand in the butchering.

For too long there was no managing of the sealing and colonies were even attacked during breeding season - everything was killed out right, even pregnant cows and newborn pups. Because of the uncontrolled exploitation the seal population had been reduced to very low levels by the end of the 19th century.  At least 23 island colonies were extinct by that time,  including 4 near Saldanha Bay and Cape Town.  The interference and disturbance as result of human actions on the different islands, did not only impact the seal-colonies and seal numbers, but also seabirds like gannets and penguins.  Especially the sealing taking place in breeding season was disruptive to the bird life - a lot of birds left and sought other refuge.

The total known harvest of pups and bulls from 1900 to 1983 was over 2.5 million and the largest number of colonies harvested in a single year was 13 in 1975.  The industry reached a climax in the ten years before 1983 with an average yearly harvest of 75 000 pups.

In a previous blog I focused on the fact that seals are a huge competition for the fish industry and that fishermen are greatly frustrated by seals, but this was not the reason for sealing. The pups are mainly killed for their pelts, and oil is also extracted from the blubber and the flesh can be used as animal food.  In addition to the pups, small numbers of bulls are shot. Their pelts were usually too damaged by territorial fights to be worth much, but they yield a great deal of oil and their reproductive organs are much desired in the Far East as a reputed aphrodisiac.

There are other reasons why culling would still be necessary on a regular basis. Since 1893 the number of seals dropped to more or less 100 000 individuals, the seals numbers have once again escalated to 1.5 million despite culling. It not only puts enormous pressure on the fishing industry, but also on the lobster-, penguin-, gannet- and other seabird populations in South Africa.

Walking along the beach it is striking to see the amount of dead seals and skeletons of seals lying around. Could it be because of food shortages? The fishing industry is also struggling... with the banning of lobster trading because of the small number of lobsters left... 

How many seals can our coasts handle?

While the hunting in Namibia is still ongoing and shows no sign of ceasing soon, South Africa has taken a stand against seal hunting. With the Sea Birds and Seal Protection Act of 1973 seals in South Africa received partial protection - although the numbers tell a contrasting story. Today things are different. In a previous article on the blog, I mentioned the public outcry when 30 000 seals were to be killed at Kleinzee, South Africa's biggest seal colony and the subsequent banning for the time being, of sealing in South Africa in 1990. Our Namibian neighbour seals are not so lucky.  Annually during the months from August to November 7 000 adult males are still being shot and 60 000 pups clubbed.