Hunters expect great interest from abroad for seal hunting, yet are worried that it may become an elitist pursuit reserved for the very wealthy. Norway's parliament, the Storting, has now cleared what many branded a ludicrous idea three years ago, Fishery Minister Svein Ludvigsen's proposal to make seal hunting a tourist attraction.
The resolution will allow foreigners to take part in a previously uniquely Norwegian activity, with certain reservations. In order to participate in the difficult hunt applicants must be qualified, and also need certified guides.
Seal hunters need to pass a shooting exam and also win a permit. Several thousand Norwegian hunters apply to take part in a hunt, but many never make it, since the chase is difficult and extremely dependent on wind and weather conditions.
There is a quota of 2,000 animals per year and this total is rarely reached.
Hunters believe that there will be great interest in the hunt, and the head of the Møre og Romsdal division of the Norwegian Hunter and Fisherman Association, Rolf Kollstrøm, said that he has received inquiries from Europe, primarily Germany.
"But it is important for us that access for Norwegian hunters does not worsen. We fear that this will become an exclusive hunt just for those with fat wallets, and that those who have hunted seal for generations will not be able to afford to participate," Kollstrøm said.
The law change comes as a result of seal hunting coming under the laws that apply to other blood sports, but also because the coastal seal population needs reduction.
The animals are accused of eating too much fish, damaging fish farming plants and for infecting fish with kveis, a small roundworm that makes fish inedible.
Just kidding...just kidding...
This one kind of looks like the German ambassador to the UN.
