Sustainable harvest and wildlife issues continue to be an important part of ICC (Canada)’s efforts. Supporting the hunting, fishing, co-management and subsistence activities of Inuit is evident in virtually all activities of ICC. ICC (Canada) has continued to speak against the animal rights’ lobby and attempts to halt seal harvesting in eastern Canada and has delivered numerous addresses around the world in support of our positions. ICC (Canada) works with IUCN, the World Conservation Union, on animal rights matters and has been active in the International Whaling Commission. Further, ICC (Canada) is an observer in the North American Marine Mammal Commission.
Over the past year, ICC (Canada) had dialogue with the World Wide Fund for Nature (Arctic Programme) and undertook dialogue with various European states including the United Kingdom, Germany and France whose citizens sometime sympathize with animal welfare organizations on these matters. Our Russian project also provided for a strong co-management component to deal with these ongoing issues. While the Arctic Council and other key international mechanisms are reluctant to address sustainable harvest and wildlife issues of relevance to Inuit, ICC (Canada) continues to find other avenues in which to defend the rights of Inuit.