The oil is made from the blubber of seals and sold as a nutritional supplement with a promise of containing healthy fats. The company, FeelGood Natural Health Stores of Whitby, Ontario, sold and transported capsules made from harp seals, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday.
FeelGood shipped more than 900 bottles of the capsules worth more than US$10,000 to the U.S. from 2019 to 2021, the Justice Department said. Harp seals are listed as a special species of “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, though their population declined to low levels in the 1960s due to hunting. They now have a global population of about 7 million, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They have been hunted off of Canada for thousands of years.
A plea agreement states that the company will pay a fine of $20,000 and face three years of probation, during which it must create and implement a compliance plan, train employees and cooperate with the U.S. government, the Justice Department said. The maximum sentence for the charge of violating the Lacey Act is a $500,000 fine and five years probation, the department said.
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