A question worth asking -- is seal hunt worth it?

How do you get this entire province riled up? Talk trash about the seal hunt, apparently.

What got lost in the fray of St. John's South-Mt. Pearl MP Ryan Cleary's recent statements about the seal hunt was the fact he wasn't talking about banning the controversial hunt outright. He was talking about investigating to see whether it was worthwhile having one.

Once everyone gets past the emotional impact of "losing a piece of our heritage" or "letting the liberal hippies win" they'll figure out it's a question worth asking.

Seal-hunt supporters say killing these animals for food is no different than killing cows or chickens.

But markets aren't quickly drying up all over the world for steaks and chicken fingers. Nations are closing their doors to seal products and the demand is going away.

Whether it's because of misinformation from animal-rights groups or because no one likes flipper pie as we do is a different argument, perhaps one that could be argued in court.

Basic economics dictate that if there is no market for a product, it's not worth producing that product.

The seal hunt is dangerous. Hunters risk their lives walking around on the ice over the ocean to harvest the animals.

The risk of being killed accidentally is enormous and asking if it's worth the risk is not a bad thing.

There is no question that the seal hunt is a legitimate food harvesting industry.

Some of its difficulties over the years can be laid squarely at the door of misinformation. But there is nothing wrong with erring on the side of caution and taking a good, hard look at how many people in how many nations are actually the market for these products.

Then, when we weigh the facts, we can act accordingly.

--The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 7, 2012 A11