Should the cull of 140,000 grey seals be approved?

A female grey seal moves over thin ice near the shore in Canso, N.S. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)

Two of Canada's leading marine biologists say a five-year proposal to slaughter 140,000 grey seals in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence is being driven by politics, not science.

Earlier this month, a federal advisory panel urged Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield to approve the cull, which would result in the killing of 70 per cent of the grey seals that feed in an area that stretches from Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula to the east side of Cape Breton.

"Before humans started industrial fishing, there were large populations of seals and of cod," said Hal Whitehead, a professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax who specializes in the study of whales. "Clearly, they can coexist perfectly well. It appears to me that politicians are playing into this largely irrational hatred of seals to make it look like they're doing something."

Wayne Stobo, a retired researcher with the federal Fisheries Department, said his extensive fieldwork with grey seals has led him to the conclusion that the proposed cull is worth a try.

"There's a little bit of scientific game-playing here. ... For them to turn around and say it's not an experiment is a bit disingenuous."

Should the fisheries minister approve the grey seal cull? Is it an appropriate application of science, or driven by politics? Let us know in the comments section below.



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