How One Animal Welfare Tragedy Highlights The Universal Need For Tolerance And Understanding.

My entire life, I have loved all animals. In my Kindergarten teacher's report to my parents, she specifically notes how frequently I expressed my fear of animals being hurt, with particular concern for the class guinea pig. Almost 35 years later, I still never kill insects indoors (with the exception of mosquitoes, bees, and wasps). And though I'm a regular meat eater, there is always a part of me that feels very sad during these meals, even if it's usually subconscious now.

Over the last few years, I've had the great joy of experiencing the spectacular work of the photographers of the incredible Canadian environmental charity SeaLegacy. They regularly share insightful photo, video, and commentary about marine life and ecosystems, from their worldwide journeys, across social media platforms, especially Instagram.

Of all the amazing creatures whose lives they frequently showcase, their experiences with the astoundingly beautiful and gentle Harp Seals, of the North Atlantic Ocean, have most powerfully impacted me. This highly migratory species spends much of it's life in the High Arctic, but each winter makes an incredibly 8,000 km (2,500 mi) journey to seasonal ice floes, off the coast of the Canadian Maritime Provinces, to give birth to babies, who are nursed for 10-12 days, then abandoned by their mothers, who must return north, to begin the cycle again.

Sadly, I was deeply troubled to learn the newborns were killed on a industrial scale for their fur annually, until the Canadian Government banned the practice in 1987. Still, even today, there is an annual industrial hunt for 3-4 week old newly-weaned babies, who have by this time molted their white natal fur, for beautiful silver and black coats.

As horrified as I was to learn of the killing, I was even more shocked and appalled by the statements of animal rights activists like "only a truly evil person could kill these creatures" and "anyone who kills one deserves to be killed themselves". I did more research on the hunt, and found it is conducted by fishermen in extremely remote communities, and can generate up to 40% of their annual income. While I absolutely believe the hunt is inherently inhumane, and should be banned by the Canadian Government (as the even more gruesome hunt for the newborn seals was), I do not believe the hunters are in any way evil. For most hunters, it's a dreadful choice between killing defenseless baby animals, or letting their own children go hungry and malnourished, not always being able to afford to heat their homes in the frigid winters, or even not being able to afford an expensive life-saving operation. And in today's world of extreme economic inequality, uprooting themselves and their families, could very well end up in homelessness. This puts the ball fully in the government's court, but so many humans (and animals) are in great need, it's hardly surprising they have yet to fully address harp seal welfare.

I discovered more troubling information in my research, this time from advocates of the hunt. Despite decades of careful scientific research indicating the opposite, some fishing industry lobbyists doggedly perpetuate the myth that harp seals are a severe threat to important Atlantic Cod and Snow Crab fisheries. These lobbyists defend the fur hunt, even calling for further massive seal culls, simply by saying "there are so many seals, you can see them from space", which is true, as harp seals are gregarious, and enormous herds gather together on the ice, during birthing and mating season. What the lobbyists apparently don't understand, is that harp seals are vital to maintaining balance in the North Atlantic marine ecosystem. They are opportunistic feeders who are known to eat at least 137 species of fish and crustaceans, and while snow crabs and Atlantic Cod are two of their favorite foods, they also consume massive quantities of Capelin, a small forage fish, which feasts on Atlantic cod eggs. Other favorite harp seal meals are several squid species, which eat both the cod and crabs. Perhaps most ironically, Atlantic Cod are one of snow crabs chief predators! Clearly, these lobbyists know little about the ocean food web, and are relying entirely on empirical observations, which is frightening on several levels.

All I have learned about harp seals, and their tragic relationship with human beings over the centuries, brings me to the two key points I want to convey in this article. The first is that we must not be judgmental, and automatically deem people we encounter in the workplace or anywhere, as evil or cruel, without first trying to understand them. It is essential to be cautious and wary, but to always start with an "innocent until proven guilty" mindset. This directly dovetails into my second point, which is that we must always approach any issue with what the late Swedish physician Hans Rosling called "Factfulness", which he defines in his book of the same title, as "The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts." Animal rights activists, fishing industry lobbyists, and every human being, must always keep tolerance and factfulness at the forefront of our consciousness, if we are to make our world a better place for all living things.