359 



If herds of Seals are left undisturbed they can under certain circumstances 

 compete with man's fishery operations. In Greenland and Arctic Canada, where 

 the adult Seals used by the fur trade for coats originate, the sealing that has 

 been carried on by the Eskimos for thousands of years is vital to their economy 

 and their very existence. (In the Gulf of St. Lawrence where some individuals 

 have been responsible for intense anti-Fur Trade propaganda, the vast majority 

 of Seals taken are used for leather purposes and not by the Fur Trade at all). 

 In any case, the part of the sealing operation that lies within Canadian terri- 

 torial waters is controlled by the Government with a quota fixed on the advice 

 of competent scientists, so that the herds are not unduly depleted. 



On the island of NortJb Rona off the Scottish coast, there is concentrated the 

 largest population of Grey Seals in the world. A sur\'ey made by the Nature 

 Conserrancy has shown that as a result of overcrowding leading to disease, 

 starvation and fatal injuries, of two thousand pups bom each season from three 

 to four hundred never live to reach the sea. It is arguable that it is better to kill 

 some excess Seals quickly and humanely and thus allow the pups a better chance 

 of survival. It is not true that if we just leave the Seals alone nature will see 

 that they live happily ever after ; on the contrary, if we abandon our management 

 responsibilities, natural balances will be attained in ways that may be far more 

 painful to individual animals. 



Many people still find it diflScult to understand that with man's dominance on 

 earth the protection of Nature with its delicately balanced ecosystems, and all 

 endangered forms of life, depends increasingly upon planned management of the 

 wilderness and on enlightened exploitation of its natural resources based on 

 scientific research, and that the roles of the hunter and the conservationist are 

 usually compatible. 



In Alaska the Fur Trade long ago took the lead in an outstanding conservation 

 project. In 1911 the Fur Seal herd had declined to a maximum of 150,000 to 

 200,000 animals and was almost extinct in other areas. In that year a treaty was 

 signed by all the Governments concerned and the management of the herd was 

 taken over by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States Government in 

 the interests of the Fur Trade. Selective killing was under the strictest super- 

 vision to ensure that hvunane methods were used to confine the killing to surplus 

 three year old males, which meant that no female or breeding bull was ever in- 

 tentionally killed. The killing of these bachelor Seals does not affect the structure 

 or breeding i)erformance of the herd, because the animals are polygamous. As the 

 result of this scientific management the numbers of animals have increased to 

 one and a half million and each year approximately seventy thousand skins are 

 taken for the Fur Trade. The operations provide valuable employment to the 

 native Aleut population who live in the islands. The Fur Seal has been re- 

 established and is now returning to other areas, and a sustained yield of surplus 

 animals for use in the Fur Trade now gives economic benefits to many people. 



ORYX, the journal of the Fauna Preservation Society, has said : 



"The Pribilof Fur Seals are in fadt the perfect example of what conserva- 

 tion means by liarvesting wild animal population on a sustained yield basis." 



The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources 

 considers that conservation can best be defined as : 



"The rational management of earth's resources to achieve the highest 

 sustainable quality of living for mankind." 



In Canada there are great conservation projects covering effective wildlife 

 management with carefully planned profitable culling covering Beaver and 

 Musquash. Areas of hundreds of square miles are set aside as Reserves. Work 

 is done to control water resources and increase food, and the harvesting of a 

 scientifically assessed number of animals by the native population is allowed. 

 Reserves are closed from time ito time and fresh areas opened for trapping. In 

 the U.S.S.R. the same approach is being made with the Sable and other animals. 



In many producing countries the problem is being tackled by the establishment 

 of conservation areas and reserves, where animals can be managed scienltifically, 

 and by restrictions on the export of certain skins. Unfortunately, the possibilities 

 of eva.sion are great and it is often diflBcult to make such controls really effective. 

 Under these circumstances, the members of the Fur Trade are in a unique posi- 

 tion, in respect of fur bearing species, to aid the international effort in the 

 control of trade in threatened species, through the acceptance of self-imposed 

 bans on the use of skins of these*animals. 



With this objective in mind contact was made with the International Union for 

 Con.servation of Nature and Natural Resources (lUON) which is the authori- 



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