Out now in The Polar Journal is a new open access piece by project principal investigator Danita Burke, “The EU’s role in legitimising the stigmatisation of sealing and sealers“.
Seal hunting is a polarising topic, and the European Union’s 2009 ban is arguably the most high-profile and impactful statement against the practice of seal hunting on the world stage. At the same time, the stories and experiences of sealers, their families and their communities experiencing cultural and economic violence, psychological abuse and forced assimilation were, and continue to be, overshadowed by the narratives and content generated globally by anti-sealing activists. This paper addresses the question: In what way is the EU seal product import ban contributing to the stigmatisation of sealing and sealers? It argues that the 2009 ban legitimatised the widespread stigmatisation of sealers and seal products generated and advocated by anti-sealing activists. In adopting activist agendas and explicitly targeting sealing as morally objectionable, the EU gave power and cover to activists’ attitudes, actions and beliefs with marginal open-minded investigation into the harm committed by these actors. In effect this sanctions the cultural and economic violence inflicted on sealers, their families and communities.
Seals, Stigma and Survival 