My trip to the ice to meet baby seals

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Published on Friday, 28 April 2017 06:45
Written by editor
r1 Take action to end the seal slaughter r33

Dear PAOV,

Right now, baby seals are being shot, clubbed to death, and skinned in in Atlantic Canada. Nearly all of the victims of the commercial seal slaughter are baby seals—less than three months old. They are brutally killed so their fur can become luxury fashion items.

I joined colleagues from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society last month to visit baby seals on the ice before the slaughter opened. Our crew included Hollywood actress Michelle Rodriguez, a kind and passionate advocate for animals who was there to remind the world about the bloody slaughter.

I've been lucky enough to visit baby seals many times, but every single trip to their icy home... is magical. We landed our helicopters on the ice floes and stepped out into the seal nursery. There were hundreds of baby whitecoat seal pups still nursing their mothers. The beautiful scene took my breath away.

It was incredible to spend time with the seals. But it was heartbreaking to know that when they shed their white fur a few weeks later, they would become targets for sealers. The peaceful harp seal nursery would be shattered by industrial sealing boats, gunfire, and hakapiks. The gentle baby seals we met would be left bloodied, dead, and skinned.

PAOV, the seal hunt is an outdated, dying industry propped up by massive cash subsidies from taxpayers—even though most Canadians oppose commercial sealing. Dozens of countries around the world have already closed their borders to seal products, and markets for seal fur are drying up.

Please ask Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to end the commercial seal slaughter and support humane economic alternatives like ecotourism. ACT NOW It only takes a minute to send a strong message to the Canadian government. Please act now to help shut down this cruel and unnecessary slaughter of baby seals. Sincerely,

Camille Labchuk
Executive Director
P.S. Want to learn more about our trip to meet baby seals? Read this recap by Sea Shepherd's Captain Paul Watson.
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