February 9, 2015 — We in New England are learning a little something about what happens when seal populations expand. There are now an estimated 16,000 or more seals, many of them the big gray seals, swimming in the waters off Cape Cod and the Islands, often coming ashore especially in places like Muskeget Island west of Nantucket, which is overrun with them. Amaru puts their numbers at 50,000 or more; he has counted 16,000 at once on the beach at Monomoy, with 90 percent of deals still in the water.
The website for the Canadian Carino Co. (www.carino.ca) is simple and elegant. The name translates to "We care," we learn.
We also learn that their products are all made from seals. Harp seals. Gray seals. Hook seals. Ring seals. A total of 38 employees at a firm viewed by many as a pariah.
You're not going to be able to buy in the United States anything Carino sells. Not the seal fur and leather hats, gloves, garments boots and accessories, as durable, water repellent and elegant as they may be.
You're not going to be able to buy any of the nutritional supplements. And you can be absolutely certain that you won't be sampling any of the seal meat, which is hunted after your down payment by trained professional hunters licensed and regulated by the Canadian government and veterinarian approved.