***Alert!: The largest massacre of marine mammals in the world has begun this month! Occurring annually in Atlantic Canada, the commercial seal hunt is a hideous example of brutality, greed, governmental cover-up, and blatant disregard for the Criminal Code of Canada. Please take a moment to send this easy-to-do letter. It involves copy/pasting twice, then clicking "Send". Your voice is all-important!
The seals deserve your help, and need it more than ever, as more individual lives will be cruelly taken than ever before in the past!
(Photo courtesy Global Action Network)
Copy/paste the following letter into the body of your e-mail, adding your own comments if you wish:
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To: Hon. Mr. Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada; Hon. Mr. Robert Thibault, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans;Hon. Mr. David Anderson, Minister of the Environment; Canadian Representatives Abroad; major Canadian media
We would like to express our condemnation of the reckless disregard for animal welfare and conservation shown by the Canadian government in its management of the commercial seal hunt.
By June 1st of last year, the world had witnessed what has become the largest kill of harp seals in Canada since 1967. Stating that they were responding to “market conditions”, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans allowed over 307,000 seals to be slaughtered – more than 32,000 animals in excess of the 2002 quota. This move towards a market driven quota rather than one set according to conservation principals will have grave consequences for the harp seal population. Certainly, this situation is reminiscent of the circumstances leading to the collapse of the cod stocks in the early 1990's. Although the DFO has been quick to blame seals for depletion of cod stocks, the ministry's theory is not based on sound scientific evidence. The stomach contents of seals have been shown to contain squid and other species of fish that predate upon cod. In other words, the DFO is lying and attempting to cover up the truth behind collapse of cod stocks. Poor management of fisheries--in essence, overfishing, is to blame. Seals are just the scapegoat for mistakes made by proud and devious government officials!
The DFO’s refusal to enforce its own quota and Canada’s Marine Mammal Regulations (MMRs) signifies a dangerous abdication of its responsibility to manage the seal hunt. Moreover, the federal Minister of Fisheries & Oceans, Robert Thibault, has now announced the 2003 seal kill quota: up to 350,000 seals to be slain every year for the next three years!
Recent investigations by observers (including information from a team of veterinarians) revealed that, during the hunt, up to 42% of seals were skinned alive while fully conscious. Furthermore, video evidence gathered each year shows routine violations of the Marine Mammal Regulations and Canada’s Criminal Code, including the skinning and bleeding of live seals, the stockpiling of dead and dying animals, and the dragging of live seals across the ice with sharpened boat hooks. Despite the submission of more than 660 thoroughly documented violations to the DFO over the past few years, not a single charge has been laid in response.
Today, the Canadian hunt for harp and hooded seals is the largest slaughter of marine mammals anywhere in the world. Internationally condemned for its inherent cruelty and waste, the annual hunt has tarnished the image of Canada around the world.
We urge the Canadian government to intervene and close the hunt for harp and hooded seals permanently. Should your reckless support for this cruel and out-of-control slaughter continue, it is certain that there will be a backlash against Canada. Citizens around the world refuse to stand idly by while this indefensible war against wildlife continues!
***Non-Canadians will fight against the brutality by refusing to buy Canadian products and by not spending our vacation dollars in your country.
***Canadians opposed to the seal hunt will refuse to visit the Maritime provinces until the senseless annual massacres become, permanently, an ugly chapter in the history of our country.
Sincerely,
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Copy/paste the following e-mail addresses into the "To" field of your e-mail. When you click "Send", your letter will be sent to Canadian government leaders, Canadian representatives abroad, and to major news media in Canada.
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letters@thetelegram.com;tabtips@pacpress.southam.ca;sunnewstips@pacpress.southam.ca;
newsroom@herald.ns.ca;swhite@cp.org;ptasko@cp.org;ploong@cp.org;dhooper@cp.org;newsonline@ctv.ca