Alison Steadman speaks out for the seal pups
20 March 2008
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.
Alison Steadman at the seal pup nursery, March 2008
Acclaimed for stage, tv and film roles spanning several decades, from the current highly acclaimed BBC show Gavin and Stacey through Fat Friends, Confetti, Life is Sweet , Mrs Bennet in the BBC’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to the 1970s screen and stage hit Abigail’s Party, Alison has long been a supporter of Respect for Animals.
Speaking to Nicki Brooks, Alison described her feelings about her visit to the seal pup nursery, the Canadian seal hunt and how we all must do everything we can to bring the world’s largest most brutal marine mammal hunt to an end, once and for all.
“I was bowled over by the seals and the ice. Out there on the ice floes, I had a real sense that man was intruding on this amazing scene - although of course we were there for good reasons, to bring the plight of the pups to the public’s attention - and that we as human beings have such a responsibility to respect these creatures and give them the space they deserve. We human beings run this planet, and animals are at our mercy. We should be caring and compassionate. Sadly we are usually neither. Man is a selfish being and very few people seem to think beyond their own needs.”
Talking about the long running campaign and how she got involved, Alison continued: “I can't remember exactly when I became aware of the annual seal hunt, but I guess it was the 80's. Apart from giving money I didn't think I'd ever be able to do anything positive to help. So when you [Respect for Animals] invited me to go to Canada, and my diary was free, I just couldn't say no.
“I realised very quickly that a lot of people had forgotten about the seals or thought that the hunt was necessary to keep down the numbers; that they were taking all the cod, or that the hunters couldn't survive without the income from the hunt. These were some of the things that were said to me. I felt I had to try and learn more about the hunt myself and see if there was any truth in these arguments.”
Speaking about the wearing of real animal fur, Alison told how she would never wear fur, not even in character: “I bought a fur coat in a charity shop in the early l970's, honestly not realising it was fur. It was some sort of beaver I think and it didn't register with me, but when I realised what I was wearing it went straight back to the charity shop!! Fur looks beautiful on the animal and hideous on humans. I would never wear fur, ever.”
'We must never give up… small steps make big differences.’
Alison Steadman
Turning her thoughts to the upcoming hunt, due to start towards the end of March, just a few weeks after her visit to the seal pup nursery, Alison added:
“The thought that those innocent animals will be cruelly put to death in a few weeks purely for fashion is unbelievable. Some people have said to me ‘Oh! What difference can you make, others have tried before and nothing has improved.’ My answer is simple: we must never give up… small steps make big differences.”
Alison has since given interviews and appeared on the Alan Titchmarsh tv programme to talk about her visit to the seal pup nursery.
Respect for Animals would like to thank Alison for her continued support and for giving up her free time to visit the seal pup nursery.