Seal meat on a Toronto restaurant’s menu has stirred up a decades-long conflict over anti-hunting campaigns, which the Inuit say threaten their existence
A newly opened restaurant in Toronto sparked heated online debate recently by revealing that two dishes on its menu would contain seal meat. Kū-kŭm Kitchen, an Indigenous-owned and operated restaurant, was targeted by an online petition which gained more than 6,300 signatures. The petition called for the restaurant to remove seal from its menu, stating that seal hunting is “violent, horrific, traumatizing and unnecessary”.
The controversy again highlighted the often uncomfortable relationship between animal rights and environmental groups and Indigenous communities who are struggling with profound issues of poverty and deprivation.
Related: Inuit hunters’ plea to the EU: lift ban seal cull or our lifestyle will be doomed
We have always been clear that our campaign is focused entirely on ending the commercial field slaughter only
Related: 'It's our way of life': Inuit designers are reclaiming the tarnished sealskin trade
Related: 'Our society is broken': what can stop Canada's First Nations suicide epidemic?
Continue reading...