Will consider hakapik ban for seal hunt: Hearn

Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn says he willinvestigate a ban on hakapiksfor the Canadian seal hunt, though he warns he does not see a clear alternative for Gulf of St. Lawrence sealers.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams said this week he would like to see hakapiks— clubs with metal hooks— bannedfor the hunt, in part because of the images they provide to hunt protesters.

Hearn said he would like sealersabandon hakapiks and clubs, but added they may be necessary in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where hunters work close to each other, making hunting with guns more dangerous.

"What we have to try to do is find a way to make sure we have a safe hunt, without interfering with that hunt or the ability to harvest the resource," Hearn told CBC News.

"But, yet, if there is a way to decrease the optics, the unpleasant optics, then we should certainly get together and talk about it."

Most sealers who take part in the hunt off Newfoundland's northeast coast— which represents the greatest part of the East Coast hunt— use rifles.

Hearn said using small-calibre guns could be a suitable alternative.

Hearn, who represents a St. John's-area riding, said he will consult with sealers before he makes a decision, which he said will come before the 2007 hunt opens.