No observation permits issued for start of Canadian seal hunt Marianne White , Canwest News Service Published: Thursday, March 27, 2008 Animal welfare activists accused the Canadian government Thursday of denying them access to the start of the seal hunt to "cover-up" the annual harvest just as the European Union is weighing a ban on the import of seal products. The hunt was to begin half an hour before dawn Friday in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence but observers and journalists will not be able to document it because they were not issued permits by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. "The government is determined to do everything in its power to stop people from documenting what happens on the ice flows," charged Rebecca Aldworth, director of Canadian wildlife issues for the Humane Society of the United States. Petition: 2008 Seal Hunt Cover up! Please sign the petition for the seals! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/2008-seal-hunt-coverup
Focus:Animal Welfare Action Request Petition 
"I would stand between a swinging club and a baby seal"... Katia Louise 
ECONOMIC FACTS:
The Seal hunt is a fur trade issue and revenues from the slaughter account for less than 1 percent of the province's economy... yet the government actually subsidizes the hunt and calls it a 'harvest'.
Is the Seal Hunt Economically Important? No. Sealing is an off-season activity conducted by fishermen
from Canada's East Coast. They make, on average, one twentieth of their
incomes from seal hunting and the rest from commercial fisheries. Even
in Newfoundland, where 90 percent of sealers live, revenues from the
hunt account for less than 1 percent of the province's economy and only
2 percent of the landed value of the fishery. According to the
Newfoundland government, out of a population of half a million people, less than 6,000 fishermen participate in the seal hunt each year. The commercial seal hunt is an activity that Canada's federal
government could easily replace with economic alternatives, should it
choose to do so. Here's what people are saying as they sign this petition...
Mar 28, 2008, Kate Simpson , Pennsylvania
Please stop Canada's annual massacre of baby seals and ban the import of all seal products. Until this occurs, we will vote with our dollars, boycotting Canadian tourism, products and seafood. We also will remember and share the stories and images of Canadian atrocity. Barring witnesses to the hunt cannot make the world blind to it. We watch with horror and revulsion.
Mar 28, 2008, Aneliese Krulicki , Canada
The seal hunt must be stopped. As a Canadian, I am ashamed that this country would promote such a barbaric act of unnecessary cruelty.
Mar 28, 2008, Dream Catcher , Netherlands
Are we really, the most "evoluted/advanced" species on the universe? Quote Frederico S " AGREE !!! Why doesn't the canadian gouverment allow witnesses on the ice? BECAUSE IT'S THEIR BLOODY SHAME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mar 28, 2008, Francesca Lazarski , United Kingdom
They must be really worried about the truth of their barbaric hunt getting out...but the fact is we all KNOW already how horrific & un-necessary this cull is. Stop treating people like they are idiots, please. And stop the murder of all these innocent creatures; some of the baby seals are only 2 weeks old - it's like killing a human baby; they are innocent, vulnerable and unable to protect themselves.
Mar 27, 2008, Julie Stuckey, Florida
Without change, there is no growth. A culture that chooses not to 'grow', dies. life = life! There is no way to justify the sad & inhumane slaughter of Canada's seals. The worst part to this unethical 'hunt' is how & why it is being done...it is morally WRONG & DE-HUMANIZING. The seals can't run or hide. A seal can't fight back with it's little flippers...IT IS SICK! ONLY A PSYCHOPATHIC MONSTER COULD THIS! Canada's annual slaughter of 100's of thousands of 1-3 month old babies is a horrifying stain upon humankind. Sealer's are a grotesque example of humans participating in dated & cruel 'traditions'. The sealers relentless & barbaric killing, reflect weakness to greed. This 'hunt' is an unethical practice that blackens the soul. Anyone who supports this type of cruelty is a disgrace to us all & to what it means to be a human!. Please show compassion & empathy to our planet's fellow creatures. Plants & vegetables get 'harvested', NOT living, feeling beings! If CANADA has nothing to hide, then observers should have complete access. If the 'seal hunt' is something so horrifying & evil that the world is forbidden to see, then why is it happening? Canada's DOA 'humane regulations' reflect a total loss of moral integrity. There is NOTHING HUMANE about the painful & terrifying murder of an animal for it's fur (or penis or body fat). What socio-path(s) created the idea of 'bleeding' as being 'more humane' I hope and pray that the EU bans seal products. Then, the shameful DOA of Canada will have to reform its barbaric structure and try to evolve...beginning with Harper.
Mar 28, 2008, Samantha Overy, Australia
This is obviously not a democratic country because that would enable freedom of choice such as where and when to film and document total barbaric bashing and butchering of defenceless seal pups. To condone this extremely cruel practice is heinous and abhorrent. Passive bystanders who want the rest of the world to have a view are banned. Canada your lack of animal welfare is pitiful. I once heard Loyola Hearn say it is an abattoir on the ice... What a bare faced lie!!! The MEAT at an abattoir is eaten not strewn all over the ice to rot after the animals have been bashed and skun, some still alive. Canada your animal welfare needs to be brought into the current century and you need to provide some real employment for these annual animal abusers whose barbaric behaviour you condone.
Mar 28, 2008, Katia Louise, California
I pray for protection over each and every baby seal. Those involved with this horrific 'hunt', including the Prime Minister can choose compassion rather than violence and they have the power to reverse this slaughter. Wake up Canada, the world is watching. Every hunting action, every swing with a club, every shot fired will penetrate the hearts of millions of people who oppose this 'harvest' world wide. When you swing at a baby seal you swing at me. No act of violence can be justified. This is a crime against humanity and it must end. Katia Louise
Please add your signature and share your thoughts. For more information go to www.BanSealTrade.org (or cut and paste this link into your browser): http://www.hsus.org/about_us/humane_society_international_hsi/seal_trade_ban/get_the_facts.html 
Light Candles for the Baby Seals
Sign the Pledge Not to Buy While Seals Die Switch Your Profile Picture to a Baby Seal or a Candle Spread the Word
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Sign IFAW Petition https://community.hsus.org/hsi/hsi_protectseals_actions.html https://secure.hsus.org/01/EU_BanSealTrade?qp_source=gahidt
http://www.hsus.org/protect_seals.html
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