About one million seals, most of them mere pups, are in
grave danger. Did you know the Canadian government has set a three-year
quota that allows hunters to shoot or club to death almost one million
seals? Did you know the Canadian government not only allows the hunt,
but actively encourages this inhumane slaughter? How inhumane? An
independent panel of veterinarians estimated that still during the 2001
hunt, up to 40% of the seals examined had been skinned alive. While the
animals were conscious
The HSUS wants you to join our campaign to protect
seals. Perhaps you have seen our full page ad in The New York Times. We
want to harness the collective power of those who believe this slaughter
must be stopped. Together we can force the Canadian government to halt
this brutal hunt forever.
Working Together to Protect Seals
The Humane Society of the United States is working to
stop the slaughter of seals in Canada. Working with groups such as the
International Wildlife Coalition, Ocean Futures, and the International
Fund for Animal Welfare, we are determined to convince the Canadian
government not to allow the ice to run red with the blood of seals. You
can help save the seals. HSUS also collaborated with Wildlife Works to
design the seals t-shirt. $10 from every shirt sold goes to the Protect
Seals: Do Something campaign.
What You Can Do
1. Don't vacation in Canada. Consider instead spending
your tourist dollars in a nation that does not actively promote a
barbaric slaughter of wildlife.
2. Contact Canada's Prime Minister, Jean Chr�tien, and
the Canadian Tourism Commission. Tell them you are horrified that the
Canadian government not only allows but promotes the seal hunt. Tell
them that you are not comfortable vacationing in Canada while the seal
hunt is legal.
Contact Information:
Prime Minister's Office
Right Honorable Jean Chr�tien
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington St. Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada K1A OA2
Fax: 613-941-6900
E-mail: [email protected]
Canadian Tourism Commission
55 Metcalfe St. Suite 600 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P 6L5
613-946-1000
E-mail: Use the Contact Us form on
www.canadatourism.com.
3. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper
protesting the seal hunt. Click here for suggestions about what points
you can make.
4. Support The HSUS's efforts to stop Canada's slaughter
of seals.
More Information
An estimated 95% of the seals killed in Canada's
November 15-May 15 hunt are 12 days to 12 months old. The hunt is over
for 2003, and while we don't know how many seals were beaten or shot on
their home ice east of Newfoundland and Labrador, we do know that the
Canadian government is allowing hunters to kill 975,000 harp seals in
the next three years. We also know that last year sealers killed at
least 30,000 more seals than they were legally allowed. And how did the
Canadian government punish the sealers? By upping the quota.
The Canadian government has proven time and again that
it is more interested in promoting a commercial seal hunt (a massive
slaughter that is nothing like the traditional hunts of the past) than
in the humane treatment of seals. When confronted with evidence from an
independent, international team of veterinarians that regulations on the
treatment of the seals were not being obeyed-that up to 40% of seal pups
were being skinned while alive and conscious-the government refused to
crack down on sealers.
Some, in fact, might say the government tacitly rewarded
the sealers by continuing to subsidize the hunt to the tune of $20
million between 1995 and 2001. And right this minute, it's promoting
seal fur, meat, and oil all over the world.
One way the Canadian government justifies its support of
the seal hunt is to claim that seals in the North Atlantic eat too many
cod. But there's no good scientific support for this claim. In fact, in
1994 two of the government's own scientists reported that the true cause
of the cod depletion in the North Atlantic was over-fishing.
Ecosystems are complex-seals also eat cod predators
(other fish), for example, so removing seals might even worsen the cod
stock's condition. But it's more convenient for the government and
fishing industry to scapegoat seals than it is for them to address the
serious problem of over-fishing.
You can help save Canada's seals!
Go on to News From The Field - Buffalo Field Campaign
Return to 13 July 2003 Issue
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