Exclusive parliamentary restaurant will serve seal meat

A parliamentary restaurant that only serves politicians, journalists and privileged guests in Ottawa will soon be serving up seal meat alongside Canadian salmon and beef.

But no fears, if you are an ordinary Canadian with a craving for a spot of seal meat, you can, with a little bit of work, find the delicacy in restaurants in Quebec. Cooked, seal meat is said to be very similar in taste to beef. Because the eating of seal meat is controversial, there are not many restaurants that serve the meat. The move by the parliamentary chef to include seal was welcomed by the Canadian Sealer's Association, as well as members of parliament. Liberal MP Marcel Proulx told press

"The sealers will be able to say, 'This is legal in Canada. We follow the legal process. Parliament Hill serves seal meat, and members of Parliament and senators eat seal meat."

Europe banned Canadian seal products this summer, and some Canadian politicians have been working hard to promote sealing. When the Royals were recently in Canada John Crosbie, the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, stirred up some buzz for wearing a full-length seal-skin coat when he greeted Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. Crosby told press

“They took it all in their stride. They noticed it and I don't think that they were upset. They know that it's necessary, that animals are all killed for all kinds of purposes. Cows are killed and produce roast beef, etc. There are a lot of Canadians that somehow think that the roast of beef is manufactured in the back of a supermarket, not realizing that it was a cow originally, and so the seal hunt is no different.”

Canada has taken its complaint about Europe's ban to the World Trade Organization. Canada's sealing industry was worth some $13 million in 2007. Some anti-sealing groups have said they will use the Olympic torch run to protest the continuation of Canadian sealing. Europe says the hunt is inhumane. The harp seal herd was estimated to have 5.6 million seals before the 2009 hunt started in March, and the government allowed a maximum of 280,000 seals to be taken. Canadians also hunt hooded and grey seals. Supporters of the seal hunt say that if people could see how animals were killed in slaughter houses, they would see that the hunt was no different. Canadian sealers are allowed to kill pups who have shed their white coats. This begins about 2.5 weeks after the pup's birth. The typical Canadian seal hunt takes place at the breeding grounds of the seal being hunted. The National Geographic states that Harp Seals are threatened. Demand for seal products has been in decline even before the European Union set the ban on Canadian seal products. Greenland and Norway also hunt seals.