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Urgent: Over 250,000 More Seals Will Die
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Dear Bent,
The senseless slaughter of
230,000 seal pups began this week off the coast of
Newfoundland.
This second phase of Canada’s
annual commercial seal hunt takes place off the remote
Front of Newfoundland and Labrador, its cruelty usually
safely out of sight from the rest of the world.
A competitive, reckless
environment known to be extremely difficult to regulate
and monitor by government authorities, IFAW is at the
Front to show the world the truth about the seal hunt.
But
I need your help to continue documenting the cruelty
we have already witnessed in our first days of
helicopter observation.
Where have all
the seals gone?
The location of the sealing
has moved much further north due to the drifting ice. On
our first day of observation we saw 10-12 sealing ships
attempting to navigate through the broken chunks of
floating ice, trying to find seals to hunt.
Climate change is affecting
the ice that harp seals depend on for breeding, nursing
and resting. It is unclear if the terrible ice
conditions have already taken most of the young seals,
or whether the seals are simply too spread out for
sealers to find.
Either way, it’s not possible
under these conditions for the government to accurately
assess the current seal population or the true impact of
the hunt. To slaughter over 300,000 seals in the face of
uncertain ice conditions that may continue for the
foreseeable future is beyond irresponsible. Already, the
first phase of the seal hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
took more than 16,000 seals over their quota for this
year.
Guns or clubs:
the suffering remains the same
Rifles are used to kill 90% of
the seals on the Front, yet the cruelty continues. Seals
are shot, taken onto the boats, skinned, and then tossed
back into the ocean.
We have already documented
several cases of seals being shot, wounded, and then
lost under the ice. We caught one poor seal on film that
slipped into the water after it was shot, struggled to
stay afloat, and then finally disappeared under the
ocean. You can
see the latest hunt video diaries and audio podcasts
here.
Five ways you
can help stop the seal hunt
It’s not too late to speak out
now and add your voice to the growing international
pressure against the seal hunt. We’ve made it easier
than ever before for you to make a real difference:
simply
visit our Seal Action Center for five different ways
to help.
And if you haven’t done so
already, please
consider making a contribution to IFAW to help
support our efforts on the ice. The costs of documenting
the hunt from the remote and dangerous Front are
extremely expensive: from helicopter travel to remote
video equipment and connectivity, I need your help to
expose the cruelty being inflicted on baby seals to the
rest of the world.
Thanks again for your ongoing
support,
Fred O’Regan
President and CEO
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