The Canadian seal hunt – the largest slaughter of marine mammals in the world – got underway in the Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada, today.
Canada’s commercial seal slaughter will begin half an hour before dawn on Friday, 28 March. However, at this time, Department of Fisheries and Oceans officials have refused to confirm they will issue permits to observers to document the killing for the opening day of the hunt.
Actor Alison Steadman joined Mark Glover and Nicki Brooks from Respect for Animals earlier this month (March 2008) as they visited a harp seal pup nursery to see the wonderful wildlife spectacle of hundreds of newly-born whitecoat seal pups being nursed by their mothers, on the hauntingly beautiful ice floes off Canada’s east coast.
Weeks before the start of the Canadian seal hunt, the largest and most brutal marine mammal hunt in the world, the Canadian government has announced that up to 275,000 seal pups can be clubbed and shot to death during this year’s hunt.
Alison Steadman visited a seal pup nursery on the ice floes off Canada's east coast and called for an end to the largest marine mammal hunt in the world, due to start here, likely killing the very seal pups she saw, later this month.
"Please take a few minutes now to tell the EU you support a ban on seal product trade.”
Paul McCartney
Deadline: 13 February 2008
The European Commission is considering a seal-product trade ban that would save millions of seals from a horrible fate.
The biggest, most authoritative, study ever undertaken on the killing and skinning of seals has just been published by the European Food Safety Authority.
Havres-aux-Maison, Quebec, Canada – The trial for five seal-hunt observers entered its second day today, relating to technical violations of Canada's Fisheries Act during the 2006 commercial hunt.
Havres-aux-Maison, Quebec – The trial of five seal-hunt observers began today, 18 October, relating to technical violations of Canada's Fisheries Act during the 2006 commercial hunt. The Crown presented their case, based on a single witness – a Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) officer who witnessed the alleged offences.
Five defendants are set to stand trial in the Magdalen Islands today (Thursday), accused of violating their observation permits during the 2006 East Coast seal hunt.
Today, the ProtectSeals team – including Mark Glover, Director of UK based Respect for Animals and HSI (UK) – will go on trial for documenting Canada's commercial seal hunt.
Rebecca Aldworth (Humane Society of the United States) witnesses some of the worst cruelty she has ever seen in her nine years observing Canada's commerical seal hunt.
Campaigners from the UK based Humane Society International today witnessed the start of the cruel slaughter of up to 270,000 seal pups.
The Department of Fisheries & Oceans has announced that the start date for the 2007 seal hunt in the Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada is to be 4 April.
The Department of Fisheries & Oceans in Canada has announced that the number of animals to be killed in this year’s hunt is 270,000.
Respect for Animals’ Directors, Mark Glover and Nicki Brooks are now out in Canada awaiting the start of the hunt, which is expected this week.
As yet there have been no announcements from the Canadian government confirming the quota for this year, nor confirmation of a start date for the hunt.
Respect for Animals and the Humane Society International (UK) warmly welcome the Ministerial Statement made today by Ian McCartney, Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs, that said the UK would be pressing the European Commission to propose EU-wide measures to ban the import of harp and hooded seal products.
Respect for Animals © 2008

