The International Legal Framework
for Seals
6
6.1
Introduction
Seals belong to the species of marine mammals with the longest history of legal
regulation. Even though, at the time of writing in 2019, they do not play as
prominent a role anymore as whales in international discourse, they have served as
important conduits for legal change towards non-utilisation. By and large, the
discourse on seals and whales shows significant overlaps concerning their perceived
status of being endangered and a strong no-use narrative. A significant difference
exists, however: there has never been the seal-equivalent to a ‘superwhale’—a
‘superseal’—that is social, intelligent and sings songs. Instead, the discourse on
seals has been much less shaped by criteria that make it almost human-like, but
instead has been shaped by emotional responses. Images of ‘baby seals’ that
emphasise childlike looks and fragility and the ‘weeping’ mother after its ‘baby’
has been killed by commercial sealers have not missed its mark and have therefore
burned themselves into (western) public consciousness. In the 1990s in Germany,
where I grew up, it was not uncommon to find ‘Save the Seal’ stickers on cars—also
driving through a Drive-Through of McDonald’s, the irony of which cannot escape
the heedful observer—and a seeming consensus on the ruthlessness of commercial
sealing. After all, how can one kill such a cute baby seal and cause so much harm to
the loving mother?
As has been demonstrated on countless occasions, reality is somewhat more
complex and the legal regimes all over the world that deal with seals differ,
depending on the traditionality and currentness of sealing. It is clear, however, that
whenever seals and humans have co-existed, they have also interacted, mostly to the
disadvantage of the seal. As we have seen in Chap. 2, this interaction has occurred all
over the world. Seals have played, and still do, three distinct roles for humans: as a
source of food; as a commercial commodity (for oil and fur); and as a nuisance.
Moreover, seals also play a role as a tourist attraction in seal watching tours all over
the world. Most prominent are probably the California sea lions (Zalophus
# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Sellheim, International Marine Mammal Law,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35268-4_6
125
for Seals
6
6.1
Introduction
Seals belong to the species of marine mammals with the longest history of legal
regulation. Even though, at the time of writing in 2019, they do not play as
prominent a role anymore as whales in international discourse, they have served as
important conduits for legal change towards non-utilisation. By and large, the
discourse on seals and whales shows significant overlaps concerning their perceived
status of being endangered and a strong no-use narrative. A significant difference
exists, however: there has never been the seal-equivalent to a ‘superwhale’—a
‘superseal’—that is social, intelligent and sings songs. Instead, the discourse on
seals has been much less shaped by criteria that make it almost human-like, but
instead has been shaped by emotional responses. Images of ‘baby seals’ that
emphasise childlike looks and fragility and the ‘weeping’ mother after its ‘baby’
has been killed by commercial sealers have not missed its mark and have therefore
burned themselves into (western) public consciousness. In the 1990s in Germany,
where I grew up, it was not uncommon to find ‘Save the Seal’ stickers on cars—also
driving through a Drive-Through of McDonald’s, the irony of which cannot escape
the heedful observer—and a seeming consensus on the ruthlessness of commercial
sealing. After all, how can one kill such a cute baby seal and cause so much harm to
the loving mother?
As has been demonstrated on countless occasions, reality is somewhat more
complex and the legal regimes all over the world that deal with seals differ,
depending on the traditionality and currentness of sealing. It is clear, however, that
whenever seals and humans have co-existed, they have also interacted, mostly to the
disadvantage of the seal. As we have seen in Chap. 2, this interaction has occurred all
over the world. Seals have played, and still do, three distinct roles for humans: as a
source of food; as a commercial commodity (for oil and fur); and as a nuisance.
Moreover, seals also play a role as a tourist attraction in seal watching tours all over
the world. Most prominent are probably the California sea lions (Zalophus
# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Sellheim, International Marine Mammal Law,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35268-4_6
125