U.S. cosmetics company offers to pay sealers to stay home
Last Updated: Wednesday, April 5, 2006 | 1:01 PM ET
CBC News
Related
Internal Links
Cathy Kangas, the founder and chief executive officer of Prai Beauty, has written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper with an offer to raise $16 million to replace the money sealers earn from the hunt.
"I do care about protecting the seals, and I don't think it's right," said Kangas, whose Connecticut-based makeup company financially supports the Humane Society of the United States, the animal welfare organization that recruited pop superstar Paul McCartney to oppose the hunt.
Kangas is also a member of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
She said various groups opposed to the hunt could raise money to supplement sealers' incomes.
"I also think it's really not right for the fishermen. I believe that they're at the wrong end of this," she said. "[They're] being used as a pawn, and they're doing the dirty work. I think it's dehumanizing for them to have to go and do that."
Kangas said it's wrong to kill seals for their fur. In an interview with CBC, Kangas said she was not aware that seal meat is also eaten.
Steve Outhouse, communications director for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said the federal government will not be taking Kangas up on her offer.
"We're not interested," Outhouse told the St. John's Telegram.
"This is another example of someone with lots of money trying to tell people how to live their lives."
Outhouse said while $16 million would replace some sealers' incomes, it is far less than the overall value of the industry.
DFO has set a harp seal quota of 325,000 animals for each of the next three years, in line with quotas of the preceding three years.
Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn has said the hunt is partially needed to maintain a balance in the marine ecology between seals and fish.
The hunt off the Front, on the northeast coast of Newfoundland, opens next week. Sealers have already completed a smaller hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Everest victim's husband says family not seeking government help
- The husband of a Toronto woman who died trying to climb Mt. Everest on Saturday says his family is not seeking government help to cover the cost of bringing his wife's body home. more »
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- B.C. Premier Christy Clark says she is not happy with the RCMP decision to transfer a disgraced Alberta Mountie to the West Coast. more »
- Henrique's OT goal sends Devils into Stanley Cup final
- The New Jersey Devils will vie for a potential fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history after defeating the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern final, courtesy of rookie Adam Henrique's goal early in overtime. more »
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- The federal government is scrapping two review boards used by people appealing decisions made about their employment insurance. more »
Latest Canada News Headlines
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges

- The estranged partner of a young mother who was stabbed to death along with her parents at their home in Aylmer, Que., has been charged with first-degree murder Friday. more »
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- B.C. Premier Christy Clark says she is not happy with the RCMP decision to transfer a disgraced Alberta Mountie to the West Coast. more »
- Forest fires still burning near Timmins, Ont.
- A new forest fire is burning north of Highway 101 near Timmins, Ont., creating a new challenge for firefighters who have been working to contain another fire in the area. more »
- RCMP to close labs in Halifax, Winnipeg, Regina
- The RCMP is closing forensic laboratories in Halifax, Winnipeg and Regina and consolidating them with three others in a move the force says will lead to faster, more efficient service. more »
The National
The Current
- What does it take to get fired at the RCMP? May. 25, 2012 5:02 PM After a senior Mountie was demoted for disgraceful conduct including sex with subordinates, exposing himself and drinking on the job, some former employees wonder what you have to do to get fired.
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges
- Everest victim's husband says family not seeking government help
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- Third B.C. salmon farm quarantined
- What a Greek euro exit could mean for Canada
- RCMP officer charged in fatal crash
- Canada ending 'Buffalo shuffle' for visas, closing consulate
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped

