2006-06-08
Declaration of Boycott
against Japan and Norway
To:
The Ambassador of Japan, Embassy of Japan, Ottawa, ON, Canada
The Ambassador of Norway, Embassy of Norway, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Dear ambassadors of Japan and Norway:
You might consider this a declaration of war on the wildlife front.
From July 2 to December 10, 2006, Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE) will be
conducting its 4th Compassion for Animals Road Expedition (CARE-4), which
will cover 35 U.S. states and 6 Canadian provinces. The media events to be
conducted in every state and province will be called the Funeral Motorcade
for the Slaughtered, to commemorate the 325,000 seals massacred in Canada
this year with the participation of Norway (see below), and the 20,000+
dolphins and 1,000+ whales slaughtered by Japan and the hundreds of whales
murdered by Norway over the last few months. In previous CARE-tours, we
supported the international boycott of Canadian seafood products. In
CARE-4, we will be calling for a general boycott of all Canadian, Japanese
and Norwegian goods and services, worldwide.
These Funeral Mortorcades are media magnets. By year end, millions of
consumers in the 100+ ! cities on the CARE-4 itinerary will have heard our
message, and begun acting accordingly.
Case in point: Stephen Thompson of Richmond, BC, Canada, a member of
the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (an ally of HOPE), recently
purchased a new Austin Mini Cooper in spite of his favoring a competing
Japanese model. Rest assured that this will happen, in short order, all
over North America against Canada, Japan and Norway, and subsequently
worldwide.
Yours truly,
Anthony Marr, founder
Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE)
604-222-1169
www.HOPE-CARE.org
[email protected]
Principal Buyer of Canadian Seal Skins Subsidized by Government to Burn
Pelts
June 7, 2006
WASHINGTON � The Humane Society of the United States today reacted to
news that a Norwegian company has destroyed 10,000 harp seal skins,
commenting that the revelation contradicts claims of strong markets for
seal products.
Norwegian media outlets reported last week that the top buyer of
Canadian seal pelts, Norwegian based GC Rieber, was paid by the Norwegian
government to destroy 10,000 harp seal skins. GC Rieber is considered the
economic backbone of the Canadian sealing industry, each year buying 50 to
80 percent of the skins from seals killed during the annual seal hunt in
Canada. Slain Canadian seals account for more than 90 percent of Rieber's
seal skin business.
"For years we've suspected some form of price rigging through hidden
government subsidies � now we have proof," said Rebecca Aldworth, director
of Canadian wildlife issues for The Humane Society of the United States.
"These revelations demonstrate that the Canadian seal hunt, in addition to
being cruel and inhumane, is also economically unjustified."
GC Rieber purchases sealskins through its Newfoundland subsidiary,
Carino, and has repeatedly claimed that the demand for seal products is so
strong they cannot match supply. However, a recent media report revealed
that the Norwegian government has paid Rieber 2 million Norwegian kroner
(about $370,000 CAD/ $330,000 USD) to burn 10,000 excess Norwegian harp
seal skins.
The Norwegian harp seal skins were obtained from sealers, who had also
received major government subsidies (2.5 million Norwegian kroner) to kill
the seals. The Norwegian government justified the burning of the skins,
indicating it was impossible to find markets for the harp seal pelts.
Animal protection groups and trade specialists have questioned the
repeated claims of strong sealskin markets made by Rieber in recent years.
"In 2000, the markets were so weak that Carino stopped buying seal
skins halfway through the season, and sealers returning from the hunt
dumped their seal skins into the ocean because they were worthless," said
Aldworth. "Just a few years later, Carino is claiming their sales are the
strongest they've ever been � even as major European markets are closing."
Return to Terminate the Canadian Seal Massacre