The International Day of Protest Against Canada’s Seal Hunt at the Office of the Consulate General of Canada
New York City- On March 15th, from Noon to 2pm, Friends of Animals, an international animal advocacy organization, will come to the door of the Canadian Consulate in Manhattan, in an international day of protest to alert New York residents that the world’s largest commercial hunt is set to continue this spring on the ice floes off Newfoundland’s coast. Advocates will gather at 1251 Avenue of the Americas (50th Street & 6th Avenue) to urge Canadian Consulate General Pamela Wallin and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to end the seal hunt now. Activists across the world will hold vigils in solidarity with the seals.
Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals, states: “Regardless of the numbers of seals targeted, or Canada’s assurances that the battering is ‘humane,’ the seal slaughter is immoral. Seals are not resources or commodities. They’re entitled to be left alone. Friends of Animals opposes the killing of seal pups for the death and suffering it imposes on every single seal.”
The Canadian Department of Fisheries is set to unveil a new plan to dispose of hundreds of thousands of seals. Over the last three years, about a million seals were slaughtered on the ice, mainly for their fur. Canada’s government supports the annual slaughter by establishing quotas for the kill and providing assistance on the ice. Federal funds are used for seal processing plants, to market seal furs and other seal products, and to develop new products from dead seals.
Seal pelt exports to Europe and Asia have risen as Canada continues marketing efforts. The pelts comprise a lucrative market in Russia, Denmark, Norway, Greenland, and China—not to mention in Canada itself. Each pelt represents the irreplaceable life of a pup who was too young to swim away from harm. Mother seals defending their pups may be killed along with the youngsters.
Foreign tourism brought in $18 billion in revenue to Canada in 2004, with a large portion coming from New England visitors. 78 million dollars was spent by Ottawa on the Canadian Tourism Bureau to boost the tourism industry—a figure far larger than the annual revenues from dead seals, which are $16.5 million. A foreign-tourism boycott supported by national animal advocacy groups would put pressure where it belongs—on the Canadian government—to end the seal hunt, and the federal subsidies that support it.
To act immediately on behalf of seals, you can join us this week, Wednesday the 15th, in New York City.
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23 Comments
On March 15, 2006, laura wrote:
IF YOU DO NOT STOP THIS BARBARIC MUDEROUS BEHAVIOUR I WILL PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT “FRIENDS OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES” WILL!
OUR GROUP WILL PAY FOR ADVERTISING THAT WILL IN HORRIFIC BLOOD RED REVEAL THE UGLY TRUTH- FROM THE SLAUGHTERING OF THE SEALS TO THE (AIRIAL) KILLING OF WOLVES.
On March 15, 2006, Edita Birnkrant wrote:
FRIENDS OF ANIMALS’ PROTEST UPDATE—NYC
The protest was a great success! We had a huge turnout, with over 200 supporters who came out today-handing out all our flyers and getting all the postcards filled out by passerby. I was interviewed on camera by an AP reporter, so be on the lookout for coverage on TV. Nellie Mckay, the singer/songwriter/animal activist came to the protest and she was leading chants on the megaphone, and Joan (FoA staff) also led chants in five languages to represent the International support for the seals. Photos will be posted tomorrow.
We attracted a huge amount of attention, educated many, many people, and broadcast our seal hunt footage so the public could see for themselves what the seal hunt really is.
Today, we stood in solidarity with the seals, and Manhattan heard us. Our voices need to continue to be heard, by Prime Minister Harper, and the rest of the world.
Edita Birnkrant
Campaign Supporter
Friends of Animals
On March 15, 2006, Marlene Bistany wrote:
Boston, MA. also held a protest today on behalf of the helpless seals…..We had a great turnout and hope that
this inhumane act of cruelty comes to an end soon…
God Bless those that care and showed their support.
We urge those who are not involved to GET INVOLVED.
These helpless and defensless creatures do not deserve
this mistreatment by such ignorant so called human beings.
On behalf of those who cant speak, please take a minute to EDUCATE YOURSELF. TIME IS RUNNING OUT and the
SEAL SLAYINGS will BEGIN March 28, 2006 as scheduled.
Let’s PUT AN END to this TODAY!!!
On March 15, 2006, GLORIA FOXX wrote:
LETS START A “BOYCOTT CANADA” AND ITS PRODUCTS WITH PHOTOS
SIMILAR TO THE BOYCOTT ALASKA PHOTOS…
LETS GET THE MESSAGE OUT THERE PEOPLE !!
On March 15, 2006, Maria Koutny wrote:
Boston, Massachusetts
This is a great cause - we need to keep up the good work on educating people about this terrible thing they do to the seals.
On March 18, 2006, Nadine Saunders wrote:
My letter to the San Francisco Bee:
Dear Elizabeth,
I do not normally like to get into public fights with fellow Canadians, especially in international media, but I have to write about the shocking and shameful letter which was written to your paper by Tristan E. Landry, Consul and Head of Public Affairs, Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco.
Has our head of public affairs in San Francisco even BEEN to Newfoundland?
I am a Newfoundlander with a Seal Hunting heritage. I am also a Canadian who wants the best for the people of my country.
The Government of Canada does not allow members of the media or the general public to go out onto the ice floes and witness the kill. It’s no wonder, when you know what actually goes on, as I do. I know from stories told by my own family members who have partaken in the hunt, that it is a brutal mass slaughter. It’s a bloodbath on the ice. And for what? A fur coat and some stinky seal meat?
The Government and media likes to portray the Seal Hunt as ‘humane’. The fact of the matter is that there are not enough veterinarians employed to oversee this type of hunt.
Who can possibly regulate anything at all on a moving and dangerous ice floe, in strong and bitterly cold wind, with blowing snow all around you?
While this Seal Hunt may bring temporary income to a few struggling Newfoundlanders with little education, it does not take away the fact that this is not a sustainable hunt in the long term. A mere few weeks ago, Canadian media reported a ‘sad story’ about mother Seals having no ice on which to have their babies! The ‘experts’ at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said that the lack of ice was ‘possibly’ due to Global Warming…
Not only is the hunt ecologically unsound, the international backlash against Canada will be far more detrimental to our country than the $16 or so million dollars that this pathetic hunt will bring in to a few of my fellow Newfoundlanders.
The international business community, as well as caring individuals from around the world, now have the impression that we are all hideous animal abusers in Canada.
Why is this happening in an otherwise intelligent and humane country that is known everywhere for being so friendly?
It is because of people (like Tristan E. Landry) with ill-informed and outdated attitudes towards solving unemployment issues in my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nadine Saunders
Vancouver, BC
Original letter from Tristan E. Landry can be found online.
On March 19, 2006, Patty wrote:
Blog Editor: Considering you can offer such a rude retort to my comments..I wish to clarify something. Yes, I do live in Alaska but am from Northern Canada where the seal hunts occur as well as in Nfld. You obviously do not agree that seals are shot..well I know different. I wonder if you or anyone else is aware of the climate in the far north..no farm land…outrageous food prices (lets see you pay 5$ for a gallon of milk!) Not to mention that hunting is a traditional way of life. You must know that Inuit do not go out and kill seals and then discard the meat…right??? Do I want to see pups beat to death for fur? of course not! As far as the Inuit in northern Canada…this is there way of life and it will not change. Now…regarding the hunting comment…its not bizarre. Its just fact. I suppose now you will come back and tell me the way it “really” is in the north..right? Don’t believe me, I’ve only lived there for 40 years.
[Blog editors’ note: Seals are clubbed and seals are shot. It’s all vile, and your sense of entitlement is ridiculous. If you don’t want seal pups clubbed to death for fur then stop defending this bloody commercial massacre of a huge magnitude. It’s conducted by residents of Newfoundland; we’re not now addressing the killing by Inuits who also kill marine mammals. It’s homo sapiens who are overboard, and after 40 years of living anywhere, you should have a grasp of that concept. ]
On March 20, 2006, catwoman wrote:
Prime minister is very heartless,I’m a canadian and very ashame of my country for allowing this to continue.I hope everybody from the states BANS canada.I love seals they have right to live just like us.SHAME ON HARPER AND MY COUNRTY!!!
On March 23, 2006, JJ wrote:
How can you shame our great land, you call yourself a canadian. If everyone banned canadian seafood, the poor fisherman in Newfoundland wouldn’t be able to pay the bills. To those of you who think that the seal hunt represents such a small amount of the average newfoundlanders income. Tell little johnny that his family won’t be having christmas this year, because dad can’t afford it anymore. Seals don’t have as much of a right to live as us. They don’t have feelings. We do. Simple as that.
[Hello JJ. We’ve got news for you. Seals are sentient; they’ve got brains, feelings and interests in their own lives. Tell your government to call the massacre off, and to act like a civilized nation that’s privleged enough to also be a major economic power. Until that happens, it’s not fish that we’re boycotting — we advocate vegetarianism — it’s foreign travel to Canada out of respect for seals and much more. ]
On March 28, 2006, Jake Clay wrote:
man that really sucks…canada sucks…..those poor seals!!!
On April 3, 2006, Shelley wrote:
I am so glad that the turnout was a success, but I do think that this is all so insane. It’s not like the seals had any say in whats happening to them. There are a lot of people out there that are blind to what’s going on, my science teacher for instance. Before we take charge of the issue, more people need to know what’s happening over there. But I do have some words for “JJ”: do you even know what your talking about? at all? because I couldn’t tell. unemployment is a big issue, but it has nothing to do with the particular subject. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!!!
On April 4, 2006, NL-Expatriate wrote:
If this is the same Nadine Saunders I’m thinking of she has probably never seen a seal on the ice in her life. She grew up in the interior of NFLD and was raised on Moose, Rabbit, Patridge, Ducks, Trout etc all of the land all killed or cleaned right in front of her poor little eyes. No nadine your food doesn’t come from a stro foam tray, you of all people should know better.
I to have some qualms with the seal hunt but banning it outright isn’t what I want to see for one thing I know that will never happen which is why these ARA extremists are approaching it in this way because they don’t want to lose their major fund raiser…
If this is your way of making up for past sins against animals your sadly mistaken in your pursuits.
Blog editors’ note: We cheer Nadine for inspiring activism and hope the rest of Canada will follow Nadine’s lead. We’ve all seen plenty of seals alive and in the process of being battered. There’s no need to continue to view it, but to express vigorous dissent. The point is not whether we were all raised vegetarians, but whether our adult lives make sense.
On April 4, 2006, Nadine Saunders wrote:
A letter to my fellow Newfoundlander:
It is unfortunate that so many of you have chosen to support the slaughter of baby seals for their fur in the Province of Newfoundland without at least trying to see another perspective first.
I have sent my Birth Certificate back to the Newfoundland Government, as a peaceful protest against their refusal to accept even a HINT of doing what is correct and ethical for these animals and for the province.
It was also a protest against the DFO’s recent revocation of permits to those individuals trying to peacefully document the hunt and show the world how ‘strictly enforced’ and ‘humane’ this Seal Hunt truly is. I believe this decision has been thinly veiled by our Government as ‘promoting the safety’ of the activists.
It does not matter if I grew up in St. John’s or St. Anthony, in Come-by-Chance or in Corner Brook, in Stephenville or in Clarenville, in Port aux Port or in Port aux Basques. All OVER Newfoundland, there are many hideous supporters of this barbaric animal cruelty towards baby Seals.
I am ashamed to call myself a Newfoundlander, and will never visit the province again until this Seal Hunt stops for good.
While this may disturb detractors, I feel in my heart that you will one day see this Seal Hunt as I do. That is, as a terrible, sad, and utterly shameful part of the history of our Country.
With the recent offer of $16 million dollars by various organizations to the Newfoundland Government, and the buy back of licenses refused, this is no longer an issue of money. It is no longer an issue of Sealer Hunters making an ‘honest living’, and feeding their families.
It is an issue of barbarism, sadism, ignorance, and bigotry on the part of the Government of Newfoundland, The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Prime Minister himself.
On April 5, 2006, JJ wrote:
Unemployment is the issue. That just shows how much work Canada has to spread the reason for the seal hunt. If i’m making 20,000 Canadian a year, 1,500 is a lot of money.
Activists also say that the seals are killed just for there pelts. This isn’t true, seal blubber is high in omega 3s and research has just proven that Omega 3 is important to a helthy diet.
When the seals are killed they are killed in a quick and humane manner. The seal population isn’t hurt, in fact if the seal hunt stops all together the seal populace willl have a small surplus, something that the fragile Newfoundland fish industy cannot afford.
Why is there still a debate on this. The seal hunt helps more than it hurts
Blog editors’note: When the spike burst a seal pup’s fuzzy head and its mother watches in horror, one has to be terribly out of it to say the massacre is anything other than immoral. Wake up. Along with hurting seals, Canada’s apologists for the blood bath look pathetic.
On April 6, 2006, Nadine Saunders wrote:
If unemployment is the issue here, as JJ suggests, then I have to ask a question…
Why did Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn tonight say on the CBC News, direct from St. John’s, Newfoundland, that the main reason for this slaughter of young Seals is NOT MONEY, but CONSERVATION….?
Could this be the Minister’s REVISED story, because he has to somehow justify the fact that he has just TURNED DOWN a $16 MILLION dollar offer from a US Cosmetics Guru to actually buy back the licenses and come up with alternate means of income for these ‘poor sealers?”
Will JJ continue to spew the Government of Canada’s pathetic rhetoric, as he has been doing on this list for days now…or will he suddenly have a change of heart and support the ‘charlatan conservationist’ named Loyola Hearn, who is leading this mass-slaughter of innocent beings in Newfoundland?
The drama continues tomorrow…on the days of the seal slaughter lives….
On May 1, 2006, Anna wrote:
This seal hunt is cruel and unacceptable. I feel so bad for the babies. Its just a blood bath in the waters. My parents and I were going to travel to Canada, but not anymore. My money is going elsewhere. This seal hunt needs to end. I pray everyday for it to end.
On July 13, 2006, Emily wrote:
This is horrible and if someone doesn’t stop this then when will it stop? Does our president even know about this??? What has this world come to….I’m at a loss for words.
On August 5, 2006, Walt Linthorne wrote:
are you people ever going to give it’s our way of life we fought for those rights to have the freedom to kill seals for a living if this was an issue in the states then we would not be having this discussion. But because Canada is such a friendly country we get flak from the rest of you. YOU eat other meats and use animal bye products in every day use get over it if you don’t like our ways stay the f—- away from here.
[Blog editors’ note: Thank you for dropping in, Walt. Correction: No one on our blog team eats any animals and we purposefully avoid animal by-products. We’re friendly, and we like friendly people. So it’s nothing against Canada. We think the government could come up with something more creative and decent to stimulate Newfoundland’s economy than shooting and bludgeoning seals. In our view, that’s not a “right” that a mature species would prize.]
On August 11, 2006, Craig Blanchard wrote:
I am a proud Newfoundlander, With only a grade 12 education. I for one support the Nfld seal hunt. If you were all so well informed you would know that it is illegal to kill baby seals. When the young seal loses its white coat ang grows the grey the same color as the rest of the 9,000,000 adult seals off the coast of Nfld, its no longer dependant on its mother for any thing. With a population of 4.5 million breading pairs and an average of 900 000 new seals every year the 180 000 killed in the annual seal hunt does not add up to a species that will be extinct in the next 100 years. The same cant be said for the northern cod, adtlantic salamon, Caplain, hearing, and other species that the seals prey on. I do not support inhumaine killing methods, but in order for the balance of an ecosystem ALL species have to be controlled. Its funny how we dont protest the british fox hunt that selfishly kill foxes mearly for sport. What about the american fishing boats that come to canadian waters and over fish while my family in nfld cant catch 1 fish to eat.
[Blog editors’ note: Craig, then you must be aware that those grew hairs start popping up only a couple of weeks after the seals’ birth. They are still very young. But their age, to us, is not the point. The point is asking why we humans think we are in fact put on this planet to control other species and all of nature. We disagree with that position, so actually we do not believe we should be running the lives of those fish you mention either. We do not support the U.S. fishing boats. We disagree with what they are doing every bit as much as we disagree with the seal-killing.]
On August 11, 2006, Craig Blanchard wrote:
Im wondering why the seal hunt is such a protested event. After 30 years of protest what still drives the debate. Is it all the false statements made by animal rites groups, or is it just a prejudice towards a human population.
[Blog editors’ note: We have respect for the population of Newfoundland; our challenge is to Canada’s government. It strongly appears that the federal government does not want to ensure a secure future for many of its coastal residents and just assumes that the seal kill will somehow be a solution to economic problems. What statements do you think are false? We’d prefer if you discussed the statements of this group, not other advocates. We can’t speak for them.]
On June 10, 2007, Alex. wrote:
i believe this should be against the law.
it is not fun to watch a man, wack a baby seal up against the head. they dont have a voice, we have to be there voice and take a stand for them. and today theres millions of seals getting killed because are man kind cannot find something better to do then walk a helpless animal, and you know the noise the animal makes when it gets wacked, its called there pain, they have feelings that can not be expressed threw words yet noises. we have to take a stand and march against those who bring pain to our animals, those who bring blood to our seas, and those who bring screams to those seals.
and from then on we will be able to understand the rights made for them, and now and then it has to be stopped.
-Alex, 12.
On March 3, 2008, Deanna wrote:
this is like the sickest thing why would somebody just
go kill ANY animal… that is just so sick. i don’t even know what to say here but all i know is that these people need to stop this nonsense and we should make a difference!!! anyone who sees this don’t ignore it just sign this so all of us can make a difference and stop letting animals live in hell let them live the life that they expected when they were born. wow lets stopp this crap and make them have a good life!!!
~deanna
On December 14, 2009, Walter Radzewicz wrote:
It is hard to concieve on how brutal man can be towards animals, especially to these defenseless seals who only strive to live in their environment. I hope that the person who is about to clobber one of these seals thinks that someone out there could do the same thing to his family. How would he feel??? Canadian Government should help out this community by creating other jobs that are dignifying to man.