I'm afraid I'll have to take the opposite stance on that petition. The propaganda that's used to stir up sentiment towards the sealing operations is erroneous and untrue in the regulated harvesting of seals today. I work with people who have overseen these hunts and they are conducted in a humaine and sustainable manner. Granted many years ago it wasn't the case and laws were enacted to ensure that cruelty towards immature animals no longer takes place. The video's you see on u-tube and accounts of the "clubbing of white coats" are likely from isolated incidents that took place in the 60's.
Seals are not an endangered species. Uncontrolled, as are most wild animal populations, the cause grievous damage to other sea life and their habitat. Uncontrolled populations of seals would damage other near shore fisheries affecting the livelihood of many many Newfoundland and Labrador families and also the stocks of fish they (and we) rely on.
So all I'm saying is take the rhetoric with a grain of salt and educate yourselves a little bit on what actually goes on out on the ice during the seal hunt. Sealing is no different than any other wild species that have to be controlled to ensure their survival and the healthy survival of the other sea creatures who's habitat coincides with theirs.
As for the livelihood of those who harvest seals, well they do what they have to do to provide for themselves and their families. Natural resources are the life source of these people and they work long and hard and risk much to provide for their families. It's easy to say "they can go do something else" but in reality 99.9% of the time there is "nothing" else in these remote parts of the world.