The Canadian Seal Hunt as Seen in Fraser's Mirror

• Author: Lesli Bisgould & Peter Sankoff
• Pages: 105-132

105

 

The Canadian Seal Hunt as Seen

in Fraser’s Mirror

Lesli Bisgould & Peter Sanko*

In Reece v Edmonton (City), possibly the most signif‌icant case relating to

animals and the law ever decided in Canada, Alberta Chief Justice Catherine

Fraser wrote a landmark dissent that did more than simply express dis-

agreement with the majority judgment on the questions of standing and

abuse of process upon which the decision was ultimately based. What made

her opinion so revolutionary was not the conclusion she reached but her

willingness to scrutinize the legal questions at stake from a refreshingly

atypical perspective. In the opening paragraph, Fraser CJA concisely yet

eloquently described the legal challenge facing Lucy the Elephant and

her human supporters in their attempt to remove Lucy from the solitary

life she was living in the cold conf‌ines of the Edmonton Valley Zoo. In the

* The authors thank Allison Boutillier, JD Candidate , University of Alberta,

for her invaluable research assistance.

  ABCA  [Reece].

 As Katie Sykes & Vaughan Black, “Don’t Think About Elephants: Reece v. City of

Edmonton” ()  UNBLJ  at  have written, “[t]he dissent engages in re-

markable depth with questions including the relationship between human beings

and animals, the debate over the existence of ‘animal rights’ and the nature and

eectiveness of legal provisions for the protection of animals . . . [T]o see them ad-

dressed at all in an appellate court decision is surprising, and that they are given

such thorough and sincere consideration is little short of astonishing.”

106     

process, she expanded on something critics of the case undoubtedly had

puzzled over — why it was worth considering these issues at all:

Some may consider this appeal and the claims on behalf of Lucy incon-

sequential, perhaps even frivolous. They would be wrong. Lucy’s case

raises serious issues . . . about how society treats sentient animals — those

capable of feeling pain and thereby suering at human hands . . . .

In this single empathic excerpt, Fraser CJA showed a willingness to take

Lucy’s claim seriously, and more importantly, she rejected the established

view of animals as mere things that can be ignored by the judicial process.

In a broader sense, she held up a metaphorical mirror and challenged

the legal system to look into it, urging readers to ref‌lect upon an elephant

suering at human hands, repeatedly stressing the importance of avoid-

ing a rote, mechanical application of legal rationales that gloss over such

suering and make it seem so rational. In the process, Fraser CJA rec-

ognized that notwithstanding the important doctrinal discussion about

standing and abuse of process, this was the major challenge facing Lucy,

and perhaps the most signif‌icant shortcoming of the legal system for all

animals. Without some shi in perspective in the way in which animal in-

terests are regarded by the law, these same animals are likely to forever

suer death by precedent. If the law will ever have real impact where ani-

mals are concerned, it will ultimately be necessary to persuade judges and

society alike to follow the path forged by Justice Fraser and reassess the

justif‌ications that currently condemn animals to suering and death for

purportedly legal, justif‌iable, necessary, and otherwise rational reasons.

This chapter attempts to pay homage to this important dissent and

consider an important issue of animal use by turning what we are call-

ing “Fraser’s Mirror” on the Canadian seal hunt. Harp seals are Canadian

icons and the big, black, watery eyes of these seal babies have melted hu-

man hearts the world over. At the same time, the Canadian seal hunt re-

mains the largest commercial slaughter of marine mammals on earth.

While some dismiss critics of the hunt as only caring about baby seals

because they are so cute, the real signif‌icance of that observation is that it

reveals just how harsh human behaviour, and the laws protecting it, can

 Reece, above note  at para .

 Paul Johnston & David Santillo, The Canadian Seal Hunt: No Management and No

Plan (Amsterdam: Greenpeace International, ) at , online: Greenpeace www.

greenpeace.org.