Canada's biggest seal hunt in 50 years begins  They are clubbing with a hook little newborn white baby seals in the name of fishing for Cod!  Haven't the Wildlife Department of Canada and the Animal Welfare organizations put their heads together and researched to find a way in 34 years since the last time this was stopped to humanely and intelligently control the seal population?

A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM HEATHER AND PAUL MCCARTNEY https://secure.hsus.org/01/seals_visit/n0pz5hUE1Lzym?

https://secure.hsus.org/01/seals_visit/n0pz5hUE1Lzym?

https://secure.hsus.org/01/seals_visit/n0pz5hUE1Lzym?

mailto:protect-seals@hsus.org | 202-452-1100 | www.hsus.org The Humane Society of the United States 2100 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20037

https://community.hsus.org/humane/smp.tcl?nkey=bu7d3b4f537te5&

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International Fund for Animal Welfare
Contact: David Lavigne, Science Advisor
Primary Phone: 519-767-1948
E-mail: dlavigne@ifaw.org


Date issued: May 25, 2005
Time in: 18:47 e


Attention: City Editor, Environment Editor, News Editor, Science Editor, Government/Political Affairs Editor


World Wildlife Fund Canada Seal Meeting Called a Whitewash


---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------

Toronto, Ontario , May 25 /PR Direct/ - In alliance with:
Environment Voters, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS),
Animal Alliance of Canada, Animal Protection Institute, Canadian
Alliance for Furbearing Animals, World Society for the Protection of
Animals, Zoocheck Canada; Respect for Animals, RSPCA, MSPCA, Born
Free, Vancouver Humane Society, Nova Scotia Humane Society, and the
ASPCA.
MEDIA RELEASE
Embargoed until 0600 Atlantic Daylight Time, 26 May 2005

A number of the world's largest animal welfare organizations are
condemning a meeting funded by World Wildlife Fund-Canada (WWF-
Canada), and being held in collaboration with the Canadian
Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in Halifax, beginning this
morning.

In a letter sent earlier this week to veterinarians invited to
participate in the meeting (see Attachment 1), fourteen animal
welfare groups charged that the purpose of the meeting is not "to
objectively assess hunting practices with respect to the Canadian
harp seal population" - as stated in a draft agenda leaked to one of
the groups earlier this month - but rather to whitewash the cruelty
concerns associated with Canada's commercial seal hunt.

The Ad Hoc Meeting of Veterinarians to Assess Humane Practices of
the Canadian Harp Seal Hunt runs from 26 - 28 May at the Casino Nova
Scotia Hotel in Halifax (see Attachment 2). The participants will
hear presentations from a number of DFO employees, and the sealing
industry. No animal welfare organizations or their staff
veterinarians have been invited to participate.

Dr. David Lavigne, Science Advisor to the International Fund for
Animal Welfare (IFAW) said, "There is nothing that this group of
veterinarians will be able to tell WWF and DFO about killing seals
that they don't already know. Meetings of 'experts' such as this
have been orchestrated by the Canadian government for decades.
History tells us that the veterinarians are being exploited for
their propaganda value by DFO. I am surprised that WWF-Canada is
risking its scientific credibility by helping them in this way."

Liz White, Director of the Animal Alliance of Canada, said, "This
meeting is a gross violation of WWF - Canada's published code of
Advocacy with Excellence. WWF claims it is non-ideological, yet only
seal hunt proponents will be giving information to the
veterinarians. WWF claims it bases its advocacy on the best
scientific advice available, yet they've excluded those with the
best knowledge of humane hunting practices. WWF says it recognizes
that issues have a wide range of stakeholders, yet it is keeping out
groups who represent the majority opinion on the cruelty of the seal
hunt. WWF says it stays within its area of expertise, yet it is
sponsoring a meeting on an issue that it has ignored in the past, an
issue in which it has no expertise or experience. Why is WWF-Canada
sponsoring an event whose obvious political purpose is to whitewash
the seal hunt?"

Rebecca Aldworth, Director of Canadian Wildlife Issues for The
Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) said, "It is inexcusable
for the WWF-Canada to sponsor a meeting on humane aspects of the
commercial seal hunt with the very government department tasked with
promoting and defending the sealing industry. For them to neglect to
involve the very people who have most consistently documented and
observed the seal hunt over the past decade shows a clear bias. If
they hope to become a credible voice for conservation, WWF-Canada
has no choice but to withdraw its sponsorship from this politically-
motivated meeting."

- 30 -

__________________________________________

Attachment 1

24 May 2005

Invited participants
Ad Hoc Meeting of Veterinarians to Assess Humane Practices of the
Canadian Harp Seal Hunt, 26-28 May 2005,
Casino Nova Scotia Hotel, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Dear Participant:

You have been invited to a meeting to discuss one of the most
important and contentious issues surrounding Canada's commercial
seal hunt. This meeting is being funded by World Wildlife Fund
Canada (WWF), in collaboration with the Canadian Department of
Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).

WWF is NOT an animal welfare organization and, historically, has
refused to concern itself with the humane aspects of this or any
other hunt. DFO is the major proponent of the Canadian seal hunt.

It should strike you as unusual that animal welfare organizations -
including those that regularly observe the hunt, document annually
the "humane practices" associated with it, and publish reports
(including veterinary reports) on the killing methods - have not
been invited to attend. Nor have their staff veterinarians. Neither
the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) - the only NGO to
have observed and documented the hunt annually in recent years - nor
the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) - which observed and
videotaped this year's hunt - have been asked for permission to use
archival video documentation or to submit more recent documentation
to the meeting. All of which leads us to ask if the purpose of the
meeting were to "objectively assess hunting practices," what
information would be available for the meeting participants to
examine?

The information provided to this particular meeting (Day1) will come
from:

1. the Canadian Department of Fisheries, whose distribution of
misinformation about all aspects of the seal hunt (including humane
killing) to the media and the public is widely known and documented,
even in the academic literature;
2. the Canadian sealing industry.

Both these sources have vested interests in promoting and expanding
the seal hunt. No presentations from animal welfare experts are
apparently planned.

It is clear that this meeting has been called to fulfill some other
purpose, and that purpose, history tells us, is political.
Gatherings such as this have long been part of the Canadian
government's strategy to promote and justify the sealing industry at
home and abroad using propaganda putatively based on expert advice.

The DFO has been managing the humaneness of killing seals since the
late 1960s and has shelves of reports and studies prepared not only
by veterinarians, but also animal welfare experts. If there are any
gaps left in the DFO's knowledge of the humane killing of harp
seals, convening a meeting of politically selected veterinarians
from at least four countries - most of whom have not observed the
seal hunt firsthand - would certainly not be the most efficient nor
effective means of filling them. Furthermore, you
cannot "objectively assess [current] hunting practices" with the
biased, incomplete, and dated information that you are being
provided with.

In conclusion, this meeting is about "whitewashing" the cruelty
concerns associated with Canada's seal hunt. It was Monte Hummel,
then President of WWF Canada, who proposed in a letter to Canada's
Fisheries Minister, The Hon. Geoff Regan, dated 16 April 2004, that:

"Collectively, we (WWF and DFO) need a better story to tell
regarding the humaneness of the seal hunt…"

Rest assured, your credentials and your participation in this
meeting will be exploited by WWF and DFO to create that story.

Yours sincerely,

David M. Lavigne, PhD
Science Advisor
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
dlavigne @ifaw.org

Stephen Best
Founding Director
Environment Voters
sbest@sympatico.ca

John Grandy, PhD
Senior Vice-President for Wildlife and Habitat Protection
Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)

Liz White
Director
Animal Alliance of Canada
liz@animalalliance.ca

Barry Kent MacKay
Canadian Representative
Animal Protection Institute
mimus@sympatico.ca

Anne Streeter
Director
Canadian Alliance for Furbearing Animals

Silia Smith
Regional Director Canada
World Society for the Protection of Animals

Julie Woodyer
Campaigns Director
Zoocheck Canada

Mark Glover
Director
Respect for Animals
mark.glover@dial.pipex.com

David Bowles
Director, International Division
RSPCA
dbowles@rspca.org.uk

Carter Luke
Vice President, Humane Services Division
MSPCA
cluke@mspca.org

Will Travers
President
Born Free
Will@bornfree.org.uk

Debra Probert
Executive Director
Vancouver Humane Society
debra@vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca

Barry Crozier
President
Nova Scotia Humane Society
nshs.zwicker@ns.sympatico.ca

Additional sign on: 25 May 2005

Steve Zawistowski, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, National Programs and Science Advisor
ASPCA
stevez@aspca.org
__________________________________________

Attachment 2

AD HOC MEETING OF VETERINARIANS TO ASSESS HUMANE PRACTICES OF THE
CANADIAN HARP SEAL HUNT

May 26-28, 2005
Casino Nova Scotia Hotel, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Purpose

To objectively assess hunting practices with respect to the Canadian
harp seal population to: 1. ensure that current practices minimize
or eliminate animal suffering; 2. ensure that available knowledge is
sufficient to provide a valid quantitative assessment of hunting
practices; and 3. provide recommendations for changes in practices
or assessment methodology, if required.

Rationale

To inform the humane debate on the annual Canadian harp seal hunt,
an independent panel of veterinarians will meet to assess the
treatment of seals during the course of the hunt, including the
manner in which seals are hunted. While there is no expectation that
this group of individuals or any other meeting will eliminate the
controversy around the hunt, there is a clear need for objectivity
in the assessment of animal suffering and the regulations governing
the management of the Canadian harp seal hunt.
The current 2003-2005 three-year management plan has expired and new
advice on all aspects of the Canadian harp seal hunt should be
available to inform future management plans (required early in
2006), regulations and codes of practice.

Agenda (all three days of the meeting will be facilitated and notes
will be taken):

On the first day of the meeting, an information session will focus
on those aspects of the hunt that might be relevant to humane
issues. The purpose of this session is to inform the veterinary
panel on a range of issues and practices through discussions with
others involved with the seal hunt, including sealers as well as
managers and scientists from the Canadian Department of Fisheries
and Oceans. The broader perspective of management, including quota
setting, will be discussed as it pertains to humane issues. The next
two days will be devoted to a discussion of all aspects of the hunt
within the veterinary group.
Throughout this three-day meeting, a clear understanding of the
following questions should be sought: What are the methods used? Are
there other methods that could be used? Can each method be assessed
in terms of animal welfare (time to death, etc.)? What are the
enforcement and compliance issues? What are the relevant knowledge
and data gaps? Information on acceptable methods of euthanasia for
other mammalian species (domestic and wild) will be pertinent to
this discussion.

Day 1
A number of informal presentations will be interspersed with
discussions:
- The population biology of harp seals (whelping and nursing period;
early pup growth and behaviour; migratory movements by young and
adults; movements of animals between the Gulf and the Front and
between the western Atlantic population and eastern populations) (M.
Hammill or G. Stenson)
- Distribution of quotas, e.g. by region versus by vessel; currently
a very competitive hunt may increase violations (K. Jones, R. Simon)
- Existing methodology of the hunt, including regulations and the
reality in the field (K. Jones, R. Simon, J-C Lapierre, M. Small)
- The magnitude of violations, enforcement, how this is assessed,
and whether this is well assessed (K. Jones, R. Simon)
- Industry: past, present and future (P. Lamoureux, J-C Lapierre, M.
Small)
- Contentious issues pertaining to the assessment of the human
treatment of seals (e.g. definition of unconsciousness and death,
use of the hakapik, swimming reflex) (P-Y Daoust)

Days 2 and 3:
The discussion of existing hunting methodologies on the first day
will inform the veterinary assessment of those methodologies. To set
the stage for discussions for these two days of the meeting, there
should be a review (including videotape) of observations from
previous studies (Canadian Veterinary Medical Association,
International Fund for Animal Welfare). Some of this information
will be circulated in a background package prior to the meeting.

Outcomes:

1) A credible statement on the humane aspects of the Canadian harp
seal hunt (a statement of current understanding, including methods
used in the hunt and differences among the hunting areas - both the
methods themselves and information on their humaneness).

2) Recommendations on:
o Preferred (or ranked) methods of hunt.
o Methodology for assessment of criteria and evaluation (including
information on levels of precision, sample size, field conditions).
o Observations necessary to answer key questions during the 2006
sealing season.

3) Next steps for the working group

Attendees:

Days 1 - 3: The following veterinarians have been invited as
independent participants; their comments and position will not
represent that of the institution with which they are affiliated.

· Charles Caraguel, DVM 2003, École Nationale Vétérinaire de
Toulouse, France; currently, Master of Science graduate student
(molecular parasitology of aquatic animals), Department of Pathology
and Microbiology, Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC), University of
Prince Edward Island (UPEI)

· Alice Crook, Coordinator, Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre,
AVC, UPEI; member of the Animal Welfare Committee of the Canadian
Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), co-author of the
article "Animal welfare and the harp seal hunt in Atlantic Canada"
(Canadian Veterinary Journal, 2002)

· Pierre-Yves Daoust, professor of anatomic pathology and wildlife
pathology, AVC, UPEI; senior author of the article "Animal welfare
and the harp seal hunt in Atlantic Canada" (Canadian Veterinary
Journal, 2002)

· Larry Dunn, Department of Research and Veterinary Services, Mystic
Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, Mystic, Connecticut, USA

· Stéphane Lair, assistant professor of zoological medicine, Faculté
de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal (not available for
the meeting)

· Alan Longair, companion animal practitioner, British Columbia;
past chair of the Animal Welfare Committee of the CVMA, member of
the international veterinary panel commissioned by the International
Fund for Animal Welfare to observe the hunt in 2001

· Joost Philippa, Institute of Virology, Erasmus Medical Centre,
Rotterdam, the Netherlands

· Andrew Routh, Senior Veterinary Officer, Veterinary Department,
Zoological Society of London, United Kingdom

· Allison Tuttle, DVM 2002, North Carolina State University, USA;
currently, resident in Zoological Medicine (with Aquatics focus),
North Carolina State University

Robert Rangeley, Marine Program Director, Atlantic region, World
Wildlife Fund - Canada, will also attend the three-day meeting.

Day 1 information session only:

· Ken Jones, Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO)-
Management, Ottawa
· Roger Simon, DFO-Management, Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Québec
· Jerry Conway, DFO-Management, Halifax, Nova Scotia
· Mike Hammill, DFO-Science, Québec, or Garry Stenson, DFO-Science,
Newfoundland
· Paul Lamoureux, biologist; coordinator of the "Table filière loup-
marin inc.", a former Sealers' Association in les Îles-de-la-
Madeleine, Québec
· Mike Warren, Province of Newfoundland & Labrador
· Mark Small, sealer; former president of the Northeast Coast
Sealers Co-op, Newfoundland
· Jean-Claude Lapierre, sealer; president, "Association des
chasseurs des Îles", les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Québec


- END PRESS RELEASE - 5/25/2005


 

International Fund for Animal Welfare April 14, 2005 How can they call this humane?   Dear Denise, More than 105,000 seals are already dead in Canada. And that’s just the beginning. IFAW observers just back from the ice have witnessed many acts of cruelty and suffering, from clubbed baby seals left in agony while hunters move quickly onto the next seal, to seals shot and left to die a slow death under the ice. Spectacular ice floes transformed into giant white nurseries just weeks ago are now stained red with the blood of seal carcasses as far as the eye can see. We’ve witnessed terrified survivors left to crawl alone through the carnage. Heard the crack of gunfire echoing across the once pristine ice floes. Listened to the pitiful cries of the pups and the repellent thuds of the clubs raining down on them. Today, they will start to kill over 200,000 more seals in Newfoundland. There’s still time to help, but we need you now. A cry from the ice the world must hear The Canadian government maintains this is a humane hunt. But as this year’s seal hunt videos document, the hunt continues to inflict unnecessary suffering and cruelty to baby seals as young as 12 days old. This is a cull against seals being run without a clear, scientific understanding of its ecological impacts. Our staff was even attacked by sealers armed with gaffs and hakapiks, despite being well within our legal rights to observe the hunt. Sadly, there is plenty about the largest slaughter of marine mammals in the world the Canadian government wants to hide. IFAW teams have filmed hours of shocking video footage from this year’s hunt. Now we need your help to show the rest of the world what’s really happening. I want to personally thank you for such an incredible outpouring of concern from citizens around the world. In the past few weeks, more than 100,000 of you have spoken out against the seal hunt online. This is a tremendous accomplishment, but we must do even more if we are to see an end to this senseless hunt now, before government quotas for seals rise further. If you haven’t done so already, please add your voice now and tell others to join us. Every action we take now is a critical step in preventing the needless and cruel deaths of more seal pups. Most of the Canadian public is opposed to the hunt, as are many countries around the world. So why can’t the Canadian government listen? Canada’s politicians are afraid of upsetting voters, with sealing communities holding seven important political seats. But the more we continue to bring the truth of the hunt to the rest of the world through our scientific reporting and video/photo documentation, the more the pressure against them builds. Thanks to your efforts, this year has already been extremely successful in building the international outrage we need to take the next step. But we must keep that momentum going now by getting our video footage in front of as many VIPs and concerned citizens as possible. Please contribute what you can now to help us share the true story of these baby seals with the rest of the world, so the cries from the ice no longer fall on deaf ears. Thanks for all you do, Fred O’Regan President and CEO P.S. It’s hard to explain how magnificent the sight of hundreds of thousands of baby seals taking their first breaths across miles of sparkling ice really is. Yet only weeks later, this incredible spectacle turns into a blood-soaked carnage. These animals each have distinct personalities and if you saw what happened to each seal in person your heart would break. Please help us get this vital video footage out to the rest of the world.   IFAW © 2005

(News articles follow contact information. This information is also
available at http://www.theanimalspirit.com/seals.html}

MASS KILLING OF SEALS BEGINS IN CANADA Despite international condemnation, the Canadian government is heavily subsidizing a hunt that could take the lives of as many as 350,000 seals over the next few weeks. According to the Massachusetts-based International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), seals may be killed once they have started to molt their white pelts, which can occur when they are as young as 12 days old. And although Canada claims to uphold guidelines on humane hunting methods, IFAW maintains that these are being ignored. In the last five years alone, the group has submitted video evidence of more than 650 violations. What can we do, ASPCA News Alert readers? As suggested in a full-page ad placed by the World Community of Animal Protection in the New York Times, humanitarians worldwide are encouraged to write to the Canadian Prime Minister and urge him to stop the hunt. Letters, faxes, and e-mails can be sent to the Prime Minister's Office, Right Honorable Paul Martin, 80 Wellington St., Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A2 CANADA; (613) 941-6900 fax; pm@pm.gc.ca e-mail. For more on the issue, and additional ways to help, please visit http://www.protectseals.org

< Join Campaigns IFAW Takes Action to End the Hunt  http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=85044 Sign our "Million Signatures for a Million Seals" Petition The Canadian government's plan to deliberately cull the harp seal herd has no scientific justification and is out of step with modern science. Sign our petition to call for an end to this cruel hunt.       PETITION TO THE CANADIAN HOUSE OF COMMONS   I, the undersigned, am deeply opposed to Canada’s plan to slaughter nearly one million seals over a three-year period - the highest quota in history. The vast majority of these animals (95%) are just days or weeks old and continuing to ignore the cruelty and waste inherent in this industry is simply unacceptable. Please act immediately to end this abuse and repair the damage to Canada's reputation as a humane and ecologically responsible society.             Basic Information   * Required fields First Name * Last Name * Email Address * City Province Country *       Get Involved We need your help to reach our goal of a million signatures for the million seals that are doomed to die in Canada's commercial hunt.   Please tell your friends to sign our petition today ... and keep spreading the word about our campaign.  Thanks! Tell a Friend Today!

**CONTACT**


Prime Minister Paul Martin
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900
Email: pm@pm.gc.ca

Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Honourable Geoff Regan
House of Commons
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Parliament Buildings, Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Canada
E-Mail: Min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

SEND COPIES TO:

Canadian Tourism Commission
55 Metcalfe Street, Suite 600
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P 6L5
Phone: 613-946-1000

John Effordm MP
House of Commons, Parliament Buildings
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Phone: 613-992-4133
Fax: 613-992-7277
Email: efford.j@arl.gc.ca

The Canadian Sealers Association
Tina Fagan, Executive Director of CSA
P.O. Box 8005, St. John's, NL
Canada A1B 3M7
Phone: 709-722-1721
Fax: 709-738-1661
Email: sealers@canada.com

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1) Contact your two U.S. Senators, and ask them to sign on to S.
Res. 269, authored by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), condemning the
Canadian seal massacre. You can look up the names of your U.S.
Senators at www.Congress.org , and you can contact them by calling
202-224-3121 or writing to:
The Honorable (first name, last name)
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Make the Call

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin’s (D-MI) Senate Resolution 269, which condemns the Canadian Seal hunt, has attracted some powerful allies. For example, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), James Jeffords (I-VT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), and John Kerry (D-MA) have already signed on as cosponsors of the resolution. But more support is needed.

If you are represented by Sen. Levin—or by any of the cosponsors of the resolution—please contact them to express your thanks for their help to protect seals. If your senator has not yet cosponsored the resolution, urge him or her to join today. You can find your senators' contact information at www.senate.gov or by calling The HSUS at 202-955-3668.

2) Also, let the Canadian Tourism Commission know that you'll
vacation elsewhere. You can email them at:
http://www.travelcanada.ca/tc_redesign/app/en/ca/contact.do .

"As custodians of the planet, it is our responsibility to deal with all species with kindness, love and compassion.  That these animals suffer through human cruelty is beyond understanding.  Please help to stop this madness."
<<<<<<Richard Gere>>>>>>

"A righteous man regards the life of his animal ".
PROVERBS 12:10
 

ALL THE AMERICAN IDOL FINALISTS AGREE: DONATELLA VERSACE, PLEASE CLUB SANDWICHES NOT SEALS!

TO: ALL NATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT DESK EDITORS

LOS ANGELES, CA May 25, 2004 /U.S. Newswire/ --

All twelve American Idol finalists, including the final two--- Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo---have joined together to sign letters to fashion designer Donatella Versace urging her to stop
using real seal fur in her designs. A copy of the letter is
below. Joining Fantasia and Diana are Amy Adams, Camile Velasco, George Huff, Jasmine Trias, Jennifer Hudson, John Stevens, Jon Peter
Lewis, La Toya Johnson, Leah Labelle, and Matthew Rogers.

To show their unifying support, all of the finalists also have black
polo shirts with the phrase "Club Sandwiches, Not Seals." Photos
of the finalists with the shirts are available on wireimage.com.

Canada recently announced that over the next three years, close to one million seals (mostly 12 days to 12 weeks in age) will be clubbed and shot to death. Seal hunt observers have noted that the young seals are often skinned while still alive. The Canadian government says that seals are eating too many cod -- yet, according to most marine mammal and fisheries scientists, this argument is not based on scientific evidence and ignores the real possibility that seals, which prey on other predators of cod, may in the end have a beneficial effect on cod stock recovery.

Other celebrities who are supporting the Protect Seals campaign include Paris Hilton, Shannon Elizabeth, Christina Applegate, Nicole Richie and Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys.

The official website for the campaign is http://www.protectseals.org/.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with over seven million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research and farm animals and sustainable agriculture. For nearly 50 years, The HSUS has protected all animals through legislation, litigation, investigation, education, advocacy and field work. The non-profit organization is based in Washington, DC and has 10 regional offices across the country. For more information, visit The HSUS' Web site - http://www.hsus.org


Dear Donatella Versace:

I am writing to ask you to discontinue using real seal fur in your
clothing designs. I recently learned about your use of seal fur
and I am appealing to you to please learn more about the issue and why it is totally unacceptable.

For the past year, The Humane Society of the United States, the largest animal protection organization in the U.S., has been actively campaigning to end the brutal annual seal hunt in
Canada. It is the largest commercial slaughter of marine mammals
on the planet that will kill close to 1 million baby seals over the next three years. The Canadian government's own figures show that 96.6% of the reported 286,238 seals killed during the 2002-2003 hunt were between 12 days to 12 weeks old. These seals were beaten to death with a club or shot.

An alarming number of the seals are skinned while alive and conscious. Recently, an independent, international team of veterinarians observed the hunt, and examined the corpses of skinned seals. They found evidence that up to 40% of seals were skinned while still able to feel pain. An observer of this year's hunt watched as a baby seal that had been clubbed suddenly work up in a pile of dead seals. Obviously suffering, the baby seal cried and cried for about 45 minutes - the observer appealed to the sealers to put her out of her misery but no one did.

I join millions of people who are appalled by the brutality and unsustainability of this pointless hunt. Even the Canadian government admits that the seals are not responsible for the region's crashing fish populations, which have been devastated by many years of industrial fishing. This is a commercial hunt for fur,
pure and simple. You can learn more at protectseals.org. By using
seal fur in your designs, you are endorsing the seal hunt. I
simply can not wear Versace until I can be assured there is no seal fur in your collections.

Please join the Humane Society of the United States by ending your use of seal fur.






**NEWS ARTICLES**

REPRINTED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
© 2004 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.

Mass seal hunt sparks outrage
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/04/12/newfoundland.seals


ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland -- Canada is once again at the center of an
environmental row as it begins the largest seal hunt in more than
half a century.

The federal government has given fishermen permission to kill
hundreds of thousands of harp seals beginning Monday off the coast of
Newfoundland and Labrador.

Up until the end of May, fishermen are expected to kill about 350,000
seals -- making it the largest single cull in more than 50 years.

The Canadian seal cull almost died out amid international outrage 25
years ago.

Ottawa has since banned the killing of baby seals. Hunters must now
wait until pups are at least 12 days old, when they have been weaned
and begin to shed their white coats.

However, the hunt has been growing steadily in size over the past six
years. While many countries have banned the importation of seal
products, the Canadian industry brought in about $15 million last
year.

The federal government maintains that harp seals are not an
endangered species. In fact, Ottawa says Atlantic seals -- which
number more than five million -- are responsible for the depletion of
cod stocks.

Advocates claim the seal hunt is vital to the local economy, which
needs to counterbalance the declining cod fishing industry.

Still, this year's cull is drawing criticism from animal rights
activists around the world.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare is critical of the way many
of the seals are killed. It says some sealers use a primitive weapon
with a metal spike on the end of a wooden pole.

The Humane Society of the United States took out a full-page ad in
The New York Times criticizing the hunt.

The ad -- under the heading "O Canada. How could you ... again?" --
says the country "still permits the clubbing of baby seals."

John Efford, Canada's minister of natural resources, responded by
saying the advertisement is incorrect to suggest the hunters are
killing baby seals.

"It's not misleading, it's absolutely wrong," he told the Globe and
Mail, a national Canadian newspaper.

"It can't be any more wrong to say we're killing baby seals when
we're not."

But absent for this year's protest are the likes of French actress
and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot, who in the 1970s famously
flew to the Canadian ice floes to stand between the seals and their
hunters.

Greenpeace, which was at the forefront of the anti-seal hunt
campaign, has decided not to take part this time in order to focus on
other concerns -- such as climate change and genetically-modified
foods.

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REPRINTED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
© Reuters 2004

Canada's biggest seal hunt in 50 years
Mon 12 April, 2004 09:50 PM
By Robert Melnbardis

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canada's biggest seal hunt in 50 years began off
the coast of Newfoundland on Monday to howls of protest from animal
rights advocates, but buoyed by international markets for pelts and
sympathetic domestic newspaper editorials.

"This hunt is bigger than it's ever been," said Rebecca Aldworth, who
is leading the anti-hunt campaign at the International Fund for
Animal Welfare.

"When you see this hunt for yourself, there is very little way that
you can walk away supporting it."

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans authorized an increase in the
quota for northwest Atlantic harp seals and officials expect this
season's hunt to reach 350,000. Last year's catch topped 300,000.

Ottawa says there are valid environmental reasons for allowing the
hunt to continue.

"Our position is based on science. Right now the harp seal population
off Canada's east coast is booming -- 5.2 million as opposed to less
than a third of that in the 1970s," said department spokesman Steve
Outhouse.

"Most Canadians are okay with the hunt in principle as long as it's
being done in a way that is sustainable and as humanely as possible."

The first leg of this year's hunt took place in the last week of
March on the ice floes in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Quebec's
Magdalen Islands. Sealers there took an estimated 90,000 animals.

The Newfoundland hunt, centered off the northeast coast of the
province, is expected to last only about two days, with sealers
taking 140,000 of the marine mammals each day.

Some 350 small boats are expected to participate, according to the
Fish, Food and Allied Workers union, which represents hundreds
workers in Newfoundland's fishing industry.

For many of the sealers, most of whom also fish for cod or crab, the
seal hunt is the first seasonal income they will make this year, said
Earl McCurdy, head of the union,

"It's a significant economic activity. The return for the last couple
of years has been in the range of C$15 million ($11 million),"
McCurdy said.

SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS

After rising international outrage over the hunt in the 1970s and
1980s forced the collapse of historic European markets for seal
pelts, Canada passed legislation in 1987 that restricted the methods
used to hunt seals.

Ottawa banned the killing of whitecoat seal pups younger than 12 days
and limited sealers to the use of small boats rather than large
commercial vessels.

As markets for seal skins and products slowly revived in eastern
Europe and Asia, the hunt's economic benefits were seen as an
important way to replace income lost when the centuries old cod
fishery collapsed in the early 1990s.

But animal rights groups say the cull of defenseless seal pups two
weeks to three months old amounts to nothing less than a slaughter of
the innocents. The seals are clubbed or shot to death on the ice
floes where the mammals give birth and prepare to mate before heading
to the Arctic.

"It's a slaughter of one of the world's greatest wildlife
spectacles," said IFAW's Aldworth.

"The seal nursery is absolutely pristine and beautiful just days
before the hunters come. And then, just days later, that peace on the
ice is shattered by the hunters who club and shoot everything in
sight."

Despite criticism from animal rights groups and intense scrutiny from
international media, the seal hunt still has broad support in the
Canadian press.

On Saturday, Montreal's Gazette mockingly noted that "limousine
liberals from Manhattan to Knightsbridge are fretting and signing
petitions about the fate of the cute little seals off Canada's east
coast."

The newspaper then offered a recipe for seal-flipper pie, a
traditional Newfoundland dish.