It is insane. Fur coats, accesories and trinkets.
http://www.harpseals.org/hunt/pelts.html
AND it isn’t even economically viable for Canada – the industry is subsidized by the government.
Quote:
The current wholesale price of seal skins provides greater incentives to the sealers; but without government subsidies, including the work of the Coast Guard in carving paths through the ice for the sealing boats, the commercial seal “hunt” would not survive.
The more I learn about this, the more outraged I get!