Namibia is the last country in the Southern Hemisphere to allow the commercial harvesting of seal pups. As every year, the Ministry of Fisheries has issued a quota of up to 80.000 seal pups and 6.000 seal bulls to be harvested. As of 01 July, so-called sealers visit various seal colonies throughout our country to kill seals for profit. Seals are seen as an economic resource equal to fish or game meat.

This annual seal cull/ harvest/ slaughter is highly controversial, mainly because of the brutal way of clubbing young seals to death on the soft back of their heads. At Ocean Conservation Namibia, we are not seal rights activists. With well over 1 million healthy seals in Namibian waters, seals are not endangered as a species. OCN's main aim is to raise awareness for plastic pollution, and rescues of entangled seals are the perfect way to show the impact of ocean rubbish on marine animals.

We have never made an official statement regarding the killing of 86.000 seals, but it is time to address a few points why the harvesting is still taking place and why we are opposing it on all levels.

1. The act of clubbing seal pups is archaic and should be outlawed; no further discussion.

2. Seals are incorrectly blamed for depleted fish stocks. While seals can consume up to 10% of their body weight per day, they mainly eat fish that is not commercially targeted. There is one reason why fish stocks are declining: overfishing. We need to reduce fishing quotas and mismanagement to achieve sustainable fishing practices.
 

3. Even at OCN, we understand that countries like Namibia must capitalise on resources. However, it is unethical to kill 6.000 healthy prime alpha seal bulls for their genitalia to be sent to the Eastern markets. Seal penises are NOT traditional medicine. The senseless slaughter of alpha males disrupts our breeding colonies' gene pool and social structures. A potential seal quota should be based on scientific facts, not economic demands.
 

4. If seals are reduced to their economic value, apart from their role in the marine ecosystem, it is essential to point out that Cape Cross is one of Namibia's biggest tourist attractions. During the harvest time in the morning, the Nature Reserve is closed to visitors. We believe that the income from entrance fees far exceeds the income from seal products.

We dread this time of the year. Over the past years, we have seen drag marks full of blood at Cape Cross. Wounded seals. Scared and stressed animals. We spent our days trying to save them, and they might get clubbed or shot the day after. If we don't kill them with rubbish, we kill them with clubs and guns.
 

There is a small silver lining: no economic demand for dead seal pups exists. They have very little meat, which seems unpopular for consumption, and very little fat for omega seal oil production. Their pelts, once a primary export product, have been banned in the EU since 2009, their biggest market. Other animal pelts are more popular and easier and cheaper to obtain. In short: the Namibian government is trying to sell seal pups, but nobody wants them. Over the past years, very few seal pups were "harvested," and we expect the same for 2023.

For our bulls, there is no good news. The demand for animal genitalia is growing, and there are requests from the sealing industry to increase the quota. Luckily they spend most of their year in the ocean or at inaccessible seal colonies, far away from humans and guns.

In the shadow of this horrendous quota of 86.000 seals, our small number of 181 disentangled seals for the month seems inconsequential. June was the most successful month for us since we started rescuing seals. It pains us to think that some of them might not survive the harvesting season.

We will keep you updated on new developments, and we ask you to please do not buy omega seal oil capsules; they might come from Namibia.

The OCN Team