i myself am canadian.. and while i find that some of the demontrations seem little too directed at ALL of canada (when i know many peta supporters and veggie kids) i fully support these campaigns and i think the letter to harper was very well written...unlike this blurb. go peta^^

Posted by: kirkley brown | April 4, 2007 03:39 PM

As this inhumane crime goes on I shall do my best here in France and Switzerland to talk with friends and other people to boycott Canadian stuff of every kind! Unfortunately I'm not a celebrity but Canada has to know that here in France great people like

Isabelle Adjani
Julio Iglesias
Sylvie Vartan
Arielle Dombasle
Anthony Kavanagh - Canadian
Anne Sophie Mutter
Maria de Medeiros
Joaquin Phoenix
Twiggy Lawson
Liane Foly
Garou - Canadian
Isabelle Boulay - Canadian

and many many more celebs started a huge campaign to urge the French Government to boycott Canada stuff.

Me - I wanted to go there with my family for a holiday - but they shall never in my life see my face! Cursed be this Government! Soyez maudits - dans toute ma vie je n'acheterai plus jamais de la marchandise canadienne - meme si je creve de faim!

Posted by: Jean-Marie LeFaivre | April 4, 2007 03:42 PM

I had no idea Chrissie Hynde was so articulate. Nice article. Here in Canada we activists are working very hard to educate people on the fact that the seal hunt has NOTHING to do with native people and subsistence. It's tough, though, because the government is working overtime to convince them otherwise.

Posted by: Canaduck | April 4, 2007 04:59 PM

From today's Nova Scotia Business Journal (http://novascotiabusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?sid=20691&sc=107):

“Cape Breton-Canso MP Rodger Cuzner will get an ice level view of the oft-criticized East Coast seal harvest, Wednesday in Newfoundland. … Cuzner believes most criticism of the seal harvest is based on misinformation. ‘It is tough to fight the emotional impact and the visual impact of blood on the white ice, but this is something people have been doing for years. It is an important industry in these coastal communities.’”

This is about as patent an admission as I’ve heard that the seal slaughter is indeed all about money. There have been Inuit delegations waging counter protests and lobbying against proposed bans on Canadian goods, citing their "right to their traditional way of life". Um, yeah... because leaving perfectly edible seal carcasses to rot while taking only the hides is SO old-school.

Maybe I need to get out more, but I've never heard of a single native tradition that even remotely had anything to do with turning a buck, much less one so unabashedly devoted to the capitalist ideal.

One small consolation... this year’s hunt quota has been scaled back due to poor ice conditions. So perhaps global warming isn’t so bad after all. (Either that or the spirits of the Inuit ancestors are REALLY pissed.)

Posted by: Nancy | April 4, 2007 06:23 PM

I logged on to the Canadian Humane Society website to get more info about this hunt and learned some interesting facts. This hunt costs the people of the entire country of Canada millions of dollars, because the government subsidises this slaughter, yet benefits only 4-5,000 fishermen in two small regions, Labrador and Newfoundland.
If Labrador and Newfoundland had not joined the Canadian Union in 1949, under British law, this slaughter would be illegal today.
The letter sent to the Premier of Fisheries and Oceans points out that Canada has lost billions of dollars from the resultant seafood boycott. The letter asks the hunt be paid for by the 4-5,000 people who actually want to kill seals and predicts it would never be held again if they actually had to cover the costs themselves.

Posted by: Kelley | April 4, 2007 07:03 PM

For one of the protests in front of Parliament in Ottawa, the Canadian government actually spent over $30,000 of TAXPAYER'S money, to fly in a large group of aboriginals (native Canadians) as a counter-protest. They had these people talking about how they rely on the seal hunt for their livelihood.

This is total propaganda, and it's disgusting that Canadians had to subsidize it!

Only 5% of the seal hunter's income comes from the hunt, because they are employed in other areas the rest of the year, so it is pretty unlikely that they would become destitute without this "blood money". Also, the Canadian government was offered $16 million to stop the seal hunt, but they turned it down.

I hope all of Europe (and any other large market) bans ALL seal products, because sadly that may be the only way to make any progress. The only reason that the sealers are no longer legally allowed to kill seals under 10 days old is because fur from these newborn pups is banned in Europe.

Posted by: Michele | April 4, 2007 07:46 PM

i'm outraged by the thought that again thousands of these innocent babies are murdered by ruthless rascals; please - peta members and all animal friends - please stop to buy canadian products and don't visit this country for tourism! this is the only effective way to stop this criminal act!!!

Posted by: joel desjardins | April 5, 2007 04:26 AM

Why is that some people are caught up trying to 'save the seals' when climate changes are threatening 30% of the world species... pushing them towards extinction within the next 100 years? It seems that too many thoughts and resources are inappropriately aimed at a select few Northern Canadian residents trying to maintain a livelihood, when an estimated 350 million people of the United States of America emit enough Greenhouse gases (along with Canada, Australia, middle eastern countries... oh and the rest of the world) to destroy Canada's arctic and natural ice flows... Ice flows that continue to dissipate every year because of the rising ocean temperatures, which causes thousands upon thousands of these creatures to drown every, along with other arctic creatures such as polar bears. I strongly suggest you advert your attention to something with permanent consequences rather than causes that satisfy your own personal comfort levels.

Posted by: Kirk | April 13, 2007 09:59 AM

Sorry for the blunt delivery but don't you think its unfair to worry so much about the canadian seal hunt..they hunt seals just as we hunt fish and other animls..some animals are made for a reason..to eat. Sure their cute but if thats their tradition and their ways then let it be.
With best regards,
Alicia

Posted by: Ali | November 11, 2007 03:19 PM

I don't believe that this comment will be posted, but it is the honest truth. PETA is apparently not educated about Canada's seal hunt. I do not mean any offense, but numerous veterinary and wildlife organizations, including the prestigous World Wildlife Fund, endorse our seal hunt, and have found it to be humane. I would just like to ask that you revise the facts before you continue to boycott our products. I myself am no part of the seal hunt, but your boycotts have damaged our economy unnecessarily. So please, get your facts in order before you continue your boycott. Thank you, and again, I mean no offense with this comment.

Posted by: Jake | January 31, 2008 03:00 PM

I understand the brutality and suffering involved with the seal hunt. I understand the ever growing number of seals who have been killed and dragged across the ice and left to die in piles of It's dead companions. What I need to know now is where the seal pelts go? Who is it that is buying these brutally obtained furs? I want to know who to write to!

Posted by: Giuliana Foulkes | March 3, 2008 10:22 PM

I guess my note against your site was too hot or too real... too bad. Time for you to get real and perhaps put a picture of the children your Gov't have killed in Iraq! Now THAT would make a headline. You are all the same. Say something against convention and you kill it. What's worse? Killing truism or killing a seal?
I'm sure you've had a taste of lamb or veal or perhaps even had a meal of fish that came from illegal trawling of the ocean beds ... your web site has so many holes I am freezing ...

Posted by: tonia sheridan | April 22, 2008 06:01 PM