Observer Permits
Journalists have a constitutional right to observe the hunt that was affirmed under a 1989 Federal Court of Appeal ruling. The federal government have a right to issue observer permits, to prevent the ice from being overcrowded with observers. A Seal Fishery Observation Licence in 2008 cost $25, and regulations on who is eligible for a license, were found in the Marine Mammal Regulations.
After noon, on March 28, federal fisheries officials, issued observer permits for the hunt's opening day, to activists and journalists. A couple of hours before the permits were issued, Phil Jenkins of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said that "We're going to delay the giving out of permits until we can understand what exact level of sealing is going on." When the permits were issued after noon, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) managed to fly out to film some scenes. The journalists (such as the United Kingdom's Sky TV,), and the representatives of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) were unable to make it to the ice floes, because the weather had turned bad during the day, making it very hard to fly a helicopter. DFO spokesman Phil Jenkins, said there had been issued 60 observer permits.
The permits for March 29, were issued on the evening of March 28.
Read more about this topic: 2008 Canadian Commercial Seal Hunt
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