Stop the Seal Hunt

Dear [Decision Maker]

I am deeply opposed to Canada's annual cruel, wasteful, and unsustainable commercial slaughter of harp seal pups.

Harp seals are facing a new threat -- global warming -- which is resulting in dramatically reduced ice coverage in the Gulf of St Lawrence and off Newfoundland.

Your government is on record stating it will take "real action" on global warming. And yet you have ignored the one tangible action your government could take to combat the effects of global warming -- dramatically reducing the seal hunt quota.

Apart from these serious conservation concerns shared by many Canadians, the seal hunt targets baby animals, a practice that is unacceptable to the majority of Canadians. In the past two years, 98% of the seals killed have been less than three months old. Severe cruelty has been witnessed and documented at the hunt during the past 30 years and incidents of cruelty are not decreasing.

This hunt only continues to exist because it is propped up by a range of government subsidies and tax-payers money. More and more countries around the world are adopting legislation to ban the import of seal products.

Instead of investing in meaningful employment opportunities for Newfoundlanders, the federal government continues to fund and support a seasonal and wasteful seal hunt which draws national and international criticism to a proud region of Canada trying to build a reputation for high-tech research and first-class environmental tourism.

[Your Comment]

I urge you to act immediately to end this unnecessary cruelty to seals and to restore Canada's pride as a humane and ecologically responsible society.