370 



James R. Shabp, 

 Washington, B.C., September 27, 1971. 



Frank Potter, Esq., 



Counsel, Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation, 



U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, B.C. 



Dear Frank : The Chairman asked that I advise the Committee, if possible, as 

 to the average age of the South African seal skins processed in the United States. 

 90% of which Mr. Dreisin testified were exported from the United States to 

 Europe as processed skins or in the form of garments. 



In response to my inquiry, I have been advised by the South African Embassy 



as follows : . ^ , % 



1. The South African seals (or Cape Seals as they are known in the trade) 

 have been protected by South African conservation laws since 1891. 



2. The total estimated population is now approximately one million. The rook- 

 eries occur on numerous rocky islands along the West Coast of South Africa, 

 access to which is not only difficult but strictly controlled by the government. 



3. The bulk of the kill is for the account of the government, not private sealers, 

 and the permissible kill is set each year by the government. No baby seals or 

 females are killed, all of the annual harvest being mature male seals of varying 

 ages. The average age of the kill is eighteen months. Despite a sustained annual 

 yield of around 40,000 to 50,000 (approximately the same as the Pribilof yield) 

 the population is estimated to be increasing each year. 



4. The objective of the South African government is to prevent overpopula- 

 tion and resulting starvation of the young seals and the squalor and desecration 

 of the areas in which the rookeries are located — in other words, to avoid the 

 conditions which the British authorities are reported to have found with the 

 seals in the Fame Islands as described in a recent article in the New York 

 Times. 



Sincerely, 



James R. Sharp, 



Counsel, Fur Conservation Institute of America. 



[The Houston Post, Aug. 1, 1971] 

 Seal Faces Death— Seal Hunt Will Kill Thousands 



Johannesburg — At least 80,000 baby seals will be killed in the annual hunt 

 now underway off South Africa and South-West Africa. 



As in Canada and Norway, where similar hunts are conducted, animal lovers 

 deplore the operation. But fishermen say their livelihood is threatened unless the 

 seal herJs are controlled. Government experts assert "culling" is necessary to 

 keep down the herds, estimated to total one million. 



This year's South African operation is expected to net about $1.4 million in 

 foreign exchange. The himt takes places annually in the July-September i>eriod 

 when the pups are about seven or eight months old and only partly weaned. 



The i)elt is in prime condition at this time. It may bring $14 on the United 

 States, British or German fur market. 



Govenmient expert C. L. Bosman who reckons that 200,000 seal pups are born 

 each season, says : "Thousands die before they reach maturity either by drown- 

 ing, being taken by sharks or simply being unable to stand up to the conditions 

 of nature." 



Culling therefore accounts for only 40 per cent of the annual stock of pups, 

 he estimates. , 



Private contractors do the killing under supervision of the government s Di- 

 vision of Guano Islands. 



Sealers land on Lslands carrying strong wooden clubs. They walk among young 

 seals perched on rocks and try to kill each with one hard blow to the head be- 

 tween eves and nose. The seal is then stabbed with a stiletto. 



An efficient team of sealers can kill 200 to 300 animals a day. They use razor- 

 sharp knives to slit the animal's fronts and then peel off the pelts. 



A layer of white blubber under the skin is removed and processed for use in 

 stock feed and soap. The rest of the carcass goes into food for livestock or pets. 



Mr. Kyros. Some people say if you impose an import ban on all of 

 these seal products we have talked about, it would remove the economic 

 incentive for killing such seals. 



