570 



dappled with black, to black with some white six>ts. The harbor seal is most 

 commonly sighted from December to February, although it occurs in a season 

 ranging from November to May. October 18, 1970 is the earliest known autumn 

 sighting of a seal, a date reported by the naturalist Judd Bennett. The Fire 

 Island National Seashore authorities recorded the sighting of a seal on Au- 

 gust 11, 1967. Harbor seals are usually rather inquisitive and they may occasion- 

 ally be approached quite closely. Tomcod, flounder, squid, octopus, and some 

 crustaceans form the bulk of their prey. 



Their scarcity, seasonal habits, and diet indicate that harbor seals do not 

 comprii* a threat to the commercial fishing industry. In addition, the small 

 funnel mouths of modem fish traps make such devices inaccessible to seals. 



Where is the sport in killing an animal that can easily be approached to within 

 a ridiculously short shooting distance? An account of feeding killies to a harbor 

 seal confirms the proximity of their approach." The skins of these particxilar 

 seals are of no practical use to man. What i-ationalization can justify the cruelty 

 of killing such a rare, harmess, defenseless and beautiful creatui^ as the seal? 

 There are more challenging targets for the hunter "brave" enough to kill them. 



Senator Bernard Smith '' is presently sponsoring a bill, S-5131, to amend Sec- 

 tion 152 of the Conservation Law, thus affording the urgently needed legal 

 protection of seals in New York State. Such legislation needs the full, conspicious 

 support of concerned citizens and organizations. 



[From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 25, 1971] 



Baby Seal Hunt in Canada 



(By Sally Bixby Defty, Post-Dispatch Staff) 



Since 1964 when the first movies were made of the annual killing of baby 

 harp seals in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River, the Canadian government has 

 received a barrage of brickbats from conservationists all over the world, urging 

 that the kill be stopped. 



The hunt will probably cease within five years, Mrs. R. Marlin Perkins 

 predicted after her return March 15 from watching the "harvest" of fluffy white 



It will not end because of a directive from the Canadian government, how- 

 ever. Mrs. Perkins believes. It will end because there will only be small 

 numbers of seals left, she says. 



"When going .after the baby seals is no longer economically attractive because 

 there are so few. the hunt will end," she said. "And the government will not have 

 alienated the Newfoundland sealing interests or the French Canadians on the 

 Magdalen Islands by banning the hunt." 



Many persons, from government people to independent biologists and natural- 

 ists, expressed this view to Mrs. Perkins in her five-day stay. But the most 

 impressive evidence came from Dr. David E. Sargeant, chief biologist for the 

 research division of the Department of Fisheries. 



It is Sargeant's job to estimate the size of the herd through aerial surveys 

 to study the species, keep track of the number killed each sT>ring and recom- 

 mend a quota. . 



In May 1964 Dr. Sargeant testified at a meeting of representatives of the 

 sealing industry and the Canadian government that evidence clearly indicated 

 that the herd had been reduced by half in the preceding decade. 



Speaking to Mrs. Perkins in a small hotel on Grindstone, one of the Magdalen 

 Islands. Sargeant's warning was even more urgent. "He told me that the harp 

 seals were expected to have about 300.000 pups this spring and that he had 

 recommended that no more than 140,000 be killed," Mrs. Perkins said. 



The Minister of Fisheries, Jack Davis, set the quota at 240,000. 



She asked Sargeant for an explanation. "Dr. Sargeant looked uncomfortable 

 and said quietly, 'No comment,' " she recalled. 



s Bennett, .Tudd. Feb. 6. 1971. "Reports of Harbor Seal in North Fork Area" for A. 

 Coolev, Bellport Senior High Scliool. 

 • Long Island Press, July 12, 1965. 

 T Senator Bernard Smith, Senate Building, Albany, N.Y. 



