How Inuk Use Seal and Seal Products Essay

The film, Angry Inuk impassionedly defends the seal hunt industry through revealing how western animal and environmental advocacy, Non-Governmental Organization, such as Humane Society International, Greenpeace, and International Fund for Animal Welfare, have, in one way or the other, devastated the livelihoods of Inuit communities who primarily rely on the seal hunt industry for subsistence. Drawn from the film, these communities make use of the seal and seal products in a variety of ways. For instance, the Inuit people depend on seals for food, clothing, and oil (Ostroff, 2016).

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To the Inuit communities, seals have been the primary source of their food, and this is emphasized in the film where the seal hunter make long commutes through snowmobile to hunt. The hunters may catch one or two seals in a day, after which they distribute the meat to feed almost the whole community. On the other hand, owing to the fact that no seal product goes to waste, the hunters engage in a collective process of preparing the seal skins for sale after which they are shipped to European markets, from which the profits economically benefit the hunters. The film substantiates that the seal hunt industry follows a chronology of activities that benefit the Inuit communities. For instance, after the hunters have received profits from the sale of the seal skin to European markets, they make use of those funds to purchase bullets and gasoline that they intend to use on their next hunt. This process is essential to the community as a whole since, without the incoming profits from the sealskins sales, the entire seal hunt industry fails, and so does the Inuit communities (CBC Docs, 2018).

Is this Inhumane (According to you)?

Based on the Inuk perspective on the seal hunt, which is deemed a traditional, yet a sustainable practice, I believe that the hunt is not inhumane. Despite the fact that a majority of the NGOs and animal rights activists deem this practice evil and inhumane, I beg to differ with their contentions owing to the fact that the Inuit people do not practice the seal hunt as a luxurious adventure. Instead, this is a community that highly struggles with the highest cost of living in Canada and the United States as a whole. Besides, the fact that the Inuit communities live in extreme poverty and deprivation, they have no other option that to engage in the seal hunt to be in a position to place food on their tables.

What Position Have Animal Rights Groups Like the Humane Society and Greenpeace Taken Over the Years?

Drawn from the film, animal rights activists such as Greenpeace alongside other NGOs have, over the years, invoked colonial and nationalist discourses through shaming the Canadian government for having allowed the seal hunt. Following their position, these non-profit organizations appeal to the European sensibilities in lobbying the European Union for the commercialized seal ban (Ostroff, 2016). Based on this context, despite the fact that these activist groups are tasked with the role of educating the general public and encouraging government policies that promote sustainable future for the planet, it is evident from the film that following some decisions made by the likes of Greenpeace, the Inuit people have over the years, suffered extreme hardship, frustrations, and grief.

What Has Been the Impact of the EU Commercial Seal Ban?

Following the May 2009 successful ban on the commercial seal hunting by the European Union (EU), the lives of the Inuit people became hard. In particular, the community was severely affected as the seal hunt is primarily a part of a circular system that sustains the Inuit communities. Arnaquq-Baril, the director of the film, Angry Inuk, contends that, despite the fact that the E.U ban makes exceptions for the Indigenous seal hunters and the Inuit communities who are deserving of a trademark to the culinary ideology of "whole animal" use, since nothing from the seal hunt goes to waste, the E.U ban still has negative implications on the economy of the Inuit communities (Arnaquq-Baril, 2016). For instance, Flanagin (2015) argues that following the ban, the sealskin that was initially sold by Inuit hunters to retailers across the globe decrease significantly in value. Instead of the initial $100 per skin that they initially made, the hunters will be forced to start receiving just $10.

Why I Think Representatives Of Animal Rights Groups Were Unwilling to Speak With The Filmmaker?

In my opinion, animal rights groups such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), and Greenspan were unwilling to engage in conversations with the filmmakers of "Angry Inuk" since they were afraid that some truths about the anti-sealing campaigns would be revealed. More fundamentally, although these animal rights groups, through their campaigns, seek to educate the public on the importance of conserving seals, they make immense profits off these campaigns. This, in essence, was probably one of the truths that they were afraid would be revealed if they talked to the filmmakers. Besides, based on the film, it is evident that these non-profit organizations and activist groups initiate and use lies during their campaigns and that they are also well aware of the implications that the seal hunting ban has on the Inuit communities.

New Thing Learnt from the Emphasis Made in this Film

In a nutshell, following the emphasis made in this particular film, I have learned various new things with reference to the animal rights advocates and the non-profit organizations who strive to push for an anti-oppression and an intersectional approach to animal advocacy. The first thing I have learned is that there is a need for these organizations and also the public as a whole, to explore different ways of alleviating systemic violence and oppression against animals without having to perpetuate or reinforce colonial domination. This, in essence, should be done based on the understanding that a majority of the oppression issues against animals and humans are fundamentally rooted in colonial-capitalism, patriarchy, Eurocentrism, or even white supremacy.

The Impact This Will Have on Me in the Future

This will positively impact my approaches to food in the future, in the sense that, I will be more cautious on what I consider an animal right when it comes to consuming various animal products, and whether it infringes any human rights or brings oppression to a specific group of people. Similarly, into the future, I will be cautious on the links between the survival of certain groups of people and the cultural institutions behind enforcing certain laws made in conservation food, mainly, the animals that are primarily consumed by indigenous groups of people.

References

Arnaquq-Baril, A. (Director). (2016). Angry Inuk [Motion picture]. Canada.

CBC Docs. (2018, January 7). Inuit Defend Canada's Seal Hunt. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/inuit-defend-canadas-seal-hunt

Flanagin, J. (2015, May 20). Europe's ban on seal products has been awful for Greenland's Inuits, and for seals. Retrieved from https://qz.com/407924/europes-ban-on-seal-products-has-been-catastrophic-for-greenlands-native-communities/

Ostroff, J. (2016, November 23). 'Angry Inuk' Explores The Inuit Fight To Protect The Seal Hunt. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/11/19/angry-inuk-film_n_12527482.html