Compiled by Outside Online

November 6, 2001 Norway's fisheries minister this week said allowing tourist to hunt seals could help the country combat an overpopulation of the animals that is hurting the fishing industry.

According to news reports, Svein Ludvigsen told the Norwegian newspaper Fiskaren that seals damage fisherman's nets and deplete fish stocks. He said that opening the hunt to tourists would help Norway meet it's culling quota. Norway currently permits fisherman to kill seals in the North Atlantic in order to protect fish stocks.

"Seal hunting in the wild Norwegian coastal nature should be sold as an exclusive product to tourists," Ludvigsen was quoted as saying, according to Reuters. "That could be a hit."

Rasmus Hansson, a senior official with the Norwegian branch of the World Wildlife Fund, told London's Guardian newspaper that his organization supports sustainable hunting but is opposed to allowing tourists to join what he called "safaris."

"This would actually just be a question of seal hunting for target practice, and that's not something we should go for. This is not ethical," he said.

Norway, which has a long tradition of whale hunting, is looking to begin selling whale products internationally next year. In February, the country approved a wolf hunt in Osterldalen Valley following complaints by farmers that the predators had killed livestock and pets.