Inuit are objecting to a federal decision to ban foreign sales of narwhal tusks for a long list of Nunavut communities, reports Canadian Press.
They say the decision to ban the export of the tusks, worth hundreds of dollars to hunters who have few other options to earn some cash, was made without consulting them.
"We want the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to explain themselves," Gabriel Nirlungayuk of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, the Inuit land claims group, told CP.
"They have not consulted Inuit."
Nirlungayuk said NTI learned a few days ago of the ruling, which said export permits will no longer be granted for narwhal tusks from 17 Nunavut communities. The ruling was made under the international Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Narwhal are considered a species of special concern under Canadian regulations, even though Environment Canada estimates there are about 45,000 of the marine mammals in the Baffin Bay population alone.
A tusk in good condition can fetch a lucky hunter up to $450 a metre.
"It's a little income that hunters are able to enjoy to help with the high cost of living up here," Nirlungayuk said.
Nirlungayak said Inuit take about 500 of the animals a year, adding that the ban on foreign sales won't stop hunting.
"They still will hunt the whales for food."
Export permits will still be issued for the five communities not on the list.
Nirlungayak said the federal move violates the Nunavut Land Claim, which requires federal officials to consult with Inuit before taking any such action.
