7,000 Russian seals are in danger of being destroyed

A Russian senator has caused controversy when calling to raise the limit of hunting indigenous seals in Lake Baikal to 7,000 per year.

Seals in Russia are at risk of extinction due to excessive hunting

The Siberia Times on October 10 reported, requesting an end to the ban on hunting native seals in Lake Baikal, Russia, from Arnold Tulokhonov, a Russian senator from the Republic of Buryatia (a Russian federal subject) and director of Baikal Natural Resources Institute.

Seals are endemic animals in Lake Baikal, Russia.(Photo: Vera Salnitskaya).

Tulokhonov's call met with objections from many animal protection organizations. A recent petition by these organizations affirmed that humans cause more harm to Lake Baikal than seals. According to them, the Baikal seal , one of three species of freshwater seals in the world, is endemic in Baikal and commercial products from seals should be banned. Animal rights activists object to the hunting of seals for fur, fat and souvenirs.

According to Tulokhonov, hunting seals is necessary to prevent phocine distemper virus (PDV) and create jobs for local people.

Senator Arnold Tulokhonov.(Photo: Mark Agnor).

"There are many local people who need income. But they are not allowed to fish and hunt. What can they do? Why is their condition worse than others? The problem is the limits needed Tulokhonov argues , discusses, approves , " argues Tulokhonov.

Vladimir Peterfeld, Baikal's fisheries official, expressed his support for the call for permission to hunt 7,000 Tulokhonov's yearly seals. Currently, the Republic of Buryatia sets limits on hunting 2,500 seals but is rejected by the federal government with a ban. In 1998, an estimated 30-40% of seals in Lake Baikal died of PDV.