Yesterday, the enormously talented (and playfully goofy, but more on that in a minute) singer/songwriter Joel Gibb of the indie band The Hidden Cameras was in Ottawa to unveil a billboard reminding everyone that "Canada's Club Scene Sucks."

While other compassionate celebrities have opted to wear our seal T-shirt to point out that the annual massacre of baby seals is a big, bloody blot on Canada's reputation, Joel got into the spirit of things by donning our seal costume for the unveiling (well, part of it, anyway).

To read more about what Joel thinks of the seal slaughter, check out his interview with Exclaim!

Or you could check him out in concert—The Hidden Cameras are currently on tour. (No word yet on whether Joel will be performing in a seal costume.)

Posted by Heather Drennan

That would be PETA supporters Emily McCoy and Emily Lavender (aka adorable fuzzy seal), who shook things up a bit at the fall conference of the Fisheries Council of Canada.

Check out the look on the face of the woman in the foreground.

Why were these two nice ladies attending a conference for the Fisheries Council? Because the Fisheries Department oversees Canada's annual seal slaughter, in which hundreds of thousands of baby seals are bludgeoned or shot to death. Boo, hiss!

The duo chanted and drew attention to the seal slaughter for about 20 minutes, then they were carted off to the pokey. Ah well, all in a day's work.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

Mais oui! The rain didn't keep members of PETA France—or nearly five hundred other demonstrators—away from a massive anti-fur march in Paris on Saturday.

Think these "grim reapers" are scary? Try watching PETA's fur exposés without covering your eyes. Betcha can't.

Onlookers learned the stomach-turning truth about fur—that regardless of whether it involves the bloody head-bashing of baby seals in Canada or the skinning of live animals on Chinese fur farms, fur always represents horrible suffering for animals.

As a result of the march, the French television news service M6 even ran a feature against the fur trade. It also polled visitors to its Web site: So far, out of 16,000 respondents, 81 percent favor an end to the fur trade.

So tell us, what's your opinion on fur?

Posted by Karin Bennett

Considering that Canadian-born Pamela Anderson is queen of the reveal and a best friend to PETA and animals, we could think of no one better to help us unveil our "Save the Seals" ad series* outside the Ontario Legislative Building this morning.

Pamela is in Toronto for Fashion Week, and has been advocating for an end to the seal slaughter every chance she gets. Last night she strutted down the runway for her A*Muse fashion line in a onesie emblazoned with the slogan "The Seal Hunt Sucks." And this morning, she and PETA V.P. Dan Mathews did an interview with Canada AM, a national T.V. talk show.

At this morning's event, Pamela appeared beside a "baby seal" and unveiled her sexy new PETA ad for her fellow Canadians. She told everyone on hand, "I can only hope that … the international outcry will force the Canadian government to end this shameful practice. Canadians aren't cruel and indifferent, but our leaders have been on this issue."

In the new ad series, celebrities from around the world call for an end to the annual massacre of baby seals—the largest mass murder of marine mammals in the world. These ads have already begun appearing in entertainment magazines, on blogs, and in tweets in many languages.

(Shhh … Did you hear that? It was the collective groan from Canadian officials upon realizing they'll be getting zero time off from responding to complaints, as a direct result of these ads.)

Posted by Karin Bennett

*Want to rock the style of Pamela and so many other celebs? You can own that limited-edition "Save the Seals" tee by clicking here.

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver are four months away, but tomorrow the torch will be lit in an elaborate ceremony in Olympia, Greece. While the torch-lightings for the past few Winter Olympics have been disrupted by weather, it wasn't the clouds that had officials worried at today's final rehearsal …

It was PETA's "seal" and demonstrators who kept everyone on their toes.

As long as Canada, the host of the 2010 Winter Games, continues to allow sealers to bash in the heads of helpless baby seals, we'll continue to expose its shameful cruelty, wherever we can.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Grab your shades, dear readers. The lineup of stars you're about to see featured in our new "Save the Seals" ad series is shining super-bright. Ready?

A wide range of celebs, from Perez Hilton and Animal Collective to Kelly Osbourne and Brody Jenner, donated their time and donned our new baby seal T-shirt, designed by Lavish Lint, to support PETA's efforts to stop Canada's bloody seal slaughter.

Want a chance to win your own limited-edition "Hug Me, Don't Club Me" tee? OK, dumb question—of course you do. Simply tell us your most fantastic idea for a slogan for our campaign to stop the seal slaughter. We'll choose the entry with the biggest "wow factor" as the winner.

The contest ends on November 4, 2009, and we'll pick the winner on November 6, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

… But PETA Germany's spunky supporters—including Jana from Germany's Big Brother—were still willing to brave the fall chill in Düsseldorf to call attention to Canada's seal slaughter.

Forget the fur—boots and scarves prevent frostbite just fine.

These gals and other caring people distributed postcards (which were addressed to the Canadian Embassy in Berlin) urging government officials to stop the slaughter. Hopefully, each passerby who picked one up put it in the mailbox.

Not quite ready to strip for the cause? Fear not—there are many other ways to call for an end to the seal slaughter.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

The following is a guest post from actor and animal rights advocate Brigitte Bardot. A dedicated activist, whose foundation to help animals has tackled issues such as fur, horse slaughter, and companion animal overpopulation, Brigitte was the first celebrity to stand up for Canadian seals. Here, once again, she speaks out against the sinister seal slaughter.

© Prestige/Getty Images

When, in 2003, some politicians and talk-show hosts called for a boycott of French products because of my country's politics against the war in Iraq, sales of French wine dropped by 26 percent in the United States in just a few days. This boycott may have cost French winemakers $112 million because of lost sales overseas.

There is little doubt that consumer boycotts hit where it hurts the most—in the wallet!

These massive ethical reactions from consumers can sometimes convince a government or a corporation to change the way that it does business. That is why I am supporting PETA's boycott of Canadian maple syrup until the Canadian government agrees to ban the slaughter of seals on the ice floes, the largest massacre of marine mammals on Earth, forever.

Canadian law authorizes seal pups to be legally killed as soon as they have lost their white baby fur, which happens about two weeks after birth. On the ice floes, the seals are bludgeoned, and some are skinned while still alive. Each spring, this vision of horror returns: The ice floes become an open-air slaughterhouse, where some pups are left in agony, their mothers trying desperately to revive their small bloody bodies.

This gruesome bloodshed has only one purpose: to fuel the fur trade!

Canadian officials are accomplices to these massacres and spend huge amounts of money to support this dying industry, which is a stain on their reputation in the eyes of the world.

This is why we must act and make Canada understand that it would be criminal, irresponsible, and economically suicidal to continue with the commercial seal slaughter.

The United States and the European Union have banned seal products, but Canada produces about 85 percent of the world's maple syrup―the maple leaf is even the symbol of this country.

As French wine was the ideal product designated by Americans to protest France's pacifist stance, maple syrup is the ideal product to boycott in order to protest Canada's aggressive stance.

Refusing to buy maple syrup so as to refuse to be an accomplice to the slaughter perpetrated on the ice floes can send a strong message to Canadian officials. That's why I am asking you to join PETA and boycott Canadian products to let the leaders of this country know that the seal slaughter is inhumane and disgraceful and that it represents a threat to Canada's economy.

I've been leading this fight for more than 33 years now, and I've already had some victories―with you today, we can win the final fight. I'm really counting on you!

Posted by Brigitte Bardot

Sometimes seals are on Sarah McLachlan's shirt. Sometimes they drive tractors. Sometimes they're in Washington, D.C.

And, as it turns out, sometimes they block the entrance to the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City to protest Canada's seal slaughter while the country's prime minister, Stephen Harper, is inside at a meeting … and then they're taken away by the police.

© starmaxinc.com
This "seal of disapproval" let a crowd of people outside the hotel know that tens of thousands of harp seals are slaughtered in Canada each year.

© starmaxinc.com
This seal will live to protest another day. Baby seals whose skulls are bashed in during the seal slaughter aren't as lucky.

Take action! Tell Prime Minister Harper that the seal slaughter must end.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

This morning, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with President Obama at the Canadian Embassy in D.C., he got a welcome that I'm sure he won't forget any time soon.

Three "seals" covered with red paint writhed on the ground to illustrate what happens to hundreds of thousands of harp seals in Canada.

Fifteen other demonstrators held up stop signs reading, "Harper: Stop the Seal Slaughter."

With D.C. traffic already backed up, the cops weren't thrilled with the additional congestion.

Luckily, the officers weren't armed with hakapiks.

If Prime Minister Harper wants a warmer welcome next time, the first thing that he should do is stop the annual seal slaughter.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

When PETA caught wind of Air Canada's financial woes, we flew into action with a tempting offer that could help keep the company flying sky high and save thousands of seals from being slaughtered on Canada's ice floes each year. PETA V.P. Dan Mathews will meet with an Air Canada representative on September 11 to discuss giving the Air Canada planes that fly between Canada and the U.S. a makeover—by wrapping them in our anti–seal slaughter ad. Check it:

In April, we asked US Airways to deck out a few of the planes that it flies in and out of Vancouver, home turf of the 2010 Olympics. Though that proposal was rejected, we haven't given up. Got any high-flying ideas about where we could place this ad next? Share your brilliance below.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

This week at the summit of North American leaders, President Obama discussed his stimulus plan, which is aimed at improving the U.S. economy. It includes a "buy American" clause that requires projects funded with stimulus money to use only American goods.

Guess who's up in arms?

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Prime Minister Harper is concerned that if America switches to products made in the US of A instead of buying those made in Canada, his country will suffer a significant financial blow.

That's exactly what we've been saying!

By boycotting Canadian maple syrup—one of Canada's major revenue sources—consumers can help pressure the government to end the annual seal slaughter.

You heard the prime minister—buy American! But before you head out to the supermarket, check out these pictures from our latest demonstration outside the Canadian Consulate in Denver, Colorado:

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Always one to lend a helping hand flipper, our American Maple Syrup Campaign "spokesseal" was itching to get behind the wheel of a tractor to help out one Green Bay, Wisconsin, farmer who was eager to show his support for our Canadian maple syrup boycott.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's … a seal driving a tractor?

As part of our relentless efforts to stop the Canadian seal slaughter, our seal is traversing the U.S. and urging people to choose maple syrup made in America as a way to put pressure on the Canadian government to stop the cruel killing of baby seals in Canada.

I've always wondered—does one need a driver's license to drive a syrup tractor?

So, where are you buying your syrup these days?

Posted by Karin Bennett

Here's an idea that hockey star and seal defender Georges Laraque would probably like to take credit for: We're planning to place a giant version of our Olympic Shame 2010 logo under the ice at several Canadian skating rinks. After all, denizens of the Great White North love their icy sports. Once they start slipping and sliding around the rink, they won't be able to miss our message that the 2010 Olympics will be hopelessly tarnished if the seal slaughter isn't permanently canceled before Vancouver's big show. Pretty slick idea, if you'll pardon the pun.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

When we heard that the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) is selling cheap outdoor ad space to nonsponsors, you can be sure that only a few seconds passed before we signed up to place a billboard during the 2010 Olympic Games.

VANOC claims that the soft economy has created sluggish ad sales, so it's scrambling to make back some of the millions of dollars it spent stockpiling billboard space. Could it be that corporations are reluctant to spend their advertising dollars to support the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games when the word "Canada" is now synonymous worldwide with "baby seal slaughter?"

One thing is for certain—if VANOC accepts our offer, our billboard will be slated to educate visitors from all over the world about Canada's Olympic Games shame.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Oof.

I imagine this is what a certain fur hag might look like on a "good" day.

PETA's "Grim Reapers" recently greeted tourists at a crowded tour-bus stop in Toronto to reveal frightening facts about Canada's shame: the cruel slaughter of baby seals for their fur. Their scary outfits didn't stop tourists from high-fiving them—and tour bus operators were eager to point out our demonstrators to their passengers.

I'm dying to know: Which fugly fur wearer does our "Grim Reaper" most remind you of?

Posted by Karin Bennett

Halifax native Sarah McLachlan, who is in Ottawa today to perform a concert in celebration of Canada Day, has wasted no time in letting her native land know how upset she is about the government's refusal to stop the annual seal slaughter. In an interview today with Canada's CTV News—during which she wore PETA's "Hug Me, Don't Club Me" tee—Sarah said, "The commercial sealing industry in Canada is perverse and sick. … They club these seals as early as 12 days old, and half the time they hook them and they drag them across the ice. … It's archaic, and it's horrible, and I want it to stop."

Check out all the other great things that she had to say:

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Canada is celebrating its birthday today, and people around the globe just don't think it's fair. The country that kills hundreds of thousands of seals each year, most of whom haven't even seen their first birthday, gets to throw a big shindig? No way, hoser.

To let Canada know that the rest of the world will not be celebrating in honor of anything Canadian until the seal slaughter ends, people gathered today at Canadian consulates and embassies for demonstrations. They even protested at parades. Check it out:

If Canada is your "home and native land," take a minute and sign our Facebook petition, tweet at Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and send an e-mail to the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee. Let your fellow Canadians know that the seal slaughter must end.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Fans are mourning the sudden passing of the "King of Pop," who spent decades under a media microscope.

Here are some Jacko facts that fans may not know:

• The number-one song "Ben," about a rat friend, was originally meant to be sung by Donny Osmond. (Thanks to The Michael Jackson Fan Club for that.)
• My personal fave bit about the gloved one is that his "Earth Song" includes an obvious bash against the bloody seal slaughter at minute 3:27.

In Michael's honor, take a minute to speak out against the seal slaughter.

Posted by Karin Bennett

With the annual Canadian seal slaughter just over (although our battle has really just begun), I was ready for a little R&R when I left PETA headquarters in Norfolk for my vacation in Martha's Vineyard last week.

I have a friend who owns a house at the popular getaway, and as we set up chairs on Lucy Vincent beach in Chilmark, I didn't think that my vacation could get any better. The sand was cool beneath my feet and the ocean waves were filling the air with a salty mist. Then, out in the distance, we saw her. A seal!

At first, we could just see her head as she swam in the waves, but then she headed toward shore and pulled herself up onto the beach for a nice rest. I sat and observed her from a distance—her eyes were so big and luminous. I thought about how lucky she was not to live in Canada where thousands of seals like her have been bludgeoned to death over the past several months. Here in Martha's Vineyard, she could enjoy her time on the beach just as my friends and I were, without having to fear for her life.

So many seals are not as fortunate as this one. Please take action now and voice your outrage at Canada's continued support of the clubbing of seals just like her.

Posted by Tracy Reiman

It's been a busy, busy week here at PETA. With so many different campaigns in full swing, we've had people out on the streets protesting the circus, and McDonald's, and the seal slaughter, and … phew. Why don't you just check out the pictures?

Me-yow!

At a recent "Unhappy Meal" giveaway, the staff of the neighboring convenience store couldn't wait to protest McDonald's.

Face it, Vancouver Olympic Committee. Protests will continue until the seal slaughter stops.

Hey, Olympic Committee! How about you help us get a "Countdown 'til the End of the Seal Slaughter" clock?

Fried or grilled, flesh is flesh no matter what animal it came from. Hopefully, this restaurant in Nevada got the message (and maybe KFC will too).

I don't know about you, but if I saw a giant seal with a hakapik, I'd pay attention!

Posted by Lianne Turner

businessreport / CC

Processing sewage isn't the only thing that Canada needs to do in order to clean up its act before the Games. That's why we're suggesting that until Canada's prime minister finally washes the blood of baby seals from his hands, one of the new sewage plants be named the "Stephen Harper 'Something's Rotten' Sewage Treatment Plant" in his honor.

That's just our little way of reminding him that allowing hundreds of thousands of seals to be shot and beaten to death each year is a load of crap.

If Stephen Harper really wants his country to look good in time for the 2010 Olympics, he needs to act now to make sure that there won't be another seal massacre in 2010.

Otherwise, Harper may well find himself in deep doo-doo.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

smh.com.au / CC

Outcry against the seal slaughter is echoing around the globe. The European Union and the U.S. have banned seal products, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling for an immediate end to the slaughter, and world leaders have spoken out against the massacre. Demonstrations from London to Hamburg and Los Angeles to Toronto have made headlines, and people all over the world have sent a strong, united message that the seal bloodbath must end.

It's clear that the Canadian seal slaughter is quickly losing favor and support: This year, about three-fourths of the seals who were expected to be bludgeoned or shot to death were spared. But we still need your help to make sure that Canada doesn't think the protests will end just because the killing has slowed.

One dead seal is still too many, so we've revved up our campaign to get the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee to use its clout to stop the seal slaughter. Check out our new Web site OlympicShame2010.com and give us a hand, won't you?

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Happy "Win It" Wednesday to you! With Canada's annual seal slaughter looming this month, we decided that a real hero for seals should be featured in our weekly giveaway. Musician and animal rights activist Morrissey has refused to play shows in Canada until the government agrees to stop letting hunters smash in baby seals' skulls. The former Smiths frontman just released his ninth solo album, Years of Refusal, and we snagged three limited-edition vinyl copies to pass along to you.

How do you win? Post a comment about your favorite thing that Morrissey has done for animals. The three people who post the most heartfelt answers will each win a copy of this limited-edition vinyl.

The contest ends on March 18, 2009, and we'll contact the winners on March 20, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Check back every Wednesday for new prizes. Good luck!

Posted by Lianne Turner