Written by PETA
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.
Written by Karin Bennett
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?
Written by Lianne Turner
In an effort to clean up its act before the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, the city of Victoria is building four new waste-treatment plants to handle the tens of millions of gallons of raw sewage that are currently being pumped into Puget Sound every day.
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.
Written by Jeff Mackey
With baby seal corpses littering Canadian ice floes, this year's seal slaughter has finally ended—but the outrage over the Canadian government's refusal to stop the killing is just getting revved up.
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?
Written by Shawna Flavell
Plainly put: Money talks, and governments are slow to change the status quo unless they are compelled by an overwhelming response from outside forces.
Canada produces 85 percent of the world's maple syrup, and the maple leaf is known throughout the world to represent Canada. And, unlike seal skins, which have been banned throughout the U.S. and Europe, Canadian maple syrup is a product found in many grocery stores and kitchen pantries. A boycott of this iconic product will send a strong message to the Canadian government that people living both in and outside the country will not stand by while baby seals are beaten and skinned.
The Canadian government has claimed that it continues to support the seal massacre for economic reasons. By boycotting maple syrup, continuing to hold demonstrations around the world, and targeting the upcoming 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, we will send the message that continuing the massive commercial seal slaughter will hurt Canada's economy far more than it helps it. Every time someone takes PETA's online pledge to boycott Canadian maple syrup, we will send a copy directly to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Canada's Minister of International Trade Stockwell Day so that they realize how hard their continued support of the seal slaughter is hitting them in the wallet.
Canadian officials may turn a blind eye to seals' immense suffering, but the outcry against the seal slaughter echoes around the globe. Many compassionate Canadians have already spoken out against the slaughter, and PETA hopes that, as this year's slaughter draws to a close, Canadians will rally to defend their international reputation and tell their government once and for all that they will no longer stand by as this bloody massacre takes place in their country.
As a pancake and seal lover, I'll be buying only American maple syrup until Canada comes to its senses. Won't you join us?
Our campaign to convince Lowe's to stop selling glue traps is stuck in high gear. Recently, a woman dressed as a mouse stuck on a glue trap stopped traffic in Yakima, Washington.
Then PETA member Stewart David requested that state officials in North Carolina investigate Lowe's bogus claim that its glue traps somehow "anesthetize" captured animals.
And in Charlotte, North Carolina, Lowe's shareholders gasped at the sight of our "dying mice," who were struggling to escape a giant glue trap beside a sign reading, "Lowe's: Stop Torturing Animals!"
Maybe pressure from shareholders will convince Lowe's to finally join Rite Aid, Safeway, CVS, and other big names that have taken the torture devices off their store shelves.
Update: US Airways rejected our initial offer, but that little bump in the road isn't stopping us. We're still hopeful that we can work something out with the airline—and if US Airways isn't open to talking, we'll be approaching other airlines with the idea.
With the 2010 Olympics approaching, people are looking to book their travel to the Games sooner rather than later. So, we'd like to let would-be passengers know that there may be a reason (or 338,200 reasons) to skip that trip to Canada.
To that end, we've approached US Airways with a proposal. We'd like the airline giant to wrap a few of its planes (the ones that fly in and out of Vancouver—Games headquarters) with one of our ads:
US Airways is quite the global ambassador and thus is the perfect flying billboard to promote responsible travel. By placing our "Canada's Olympic Shame—End the Seal Slaughter" ad on the body of a few of its planes, US Airways will be doing its part to show Canada that the world won't rest until the cruel slaughter of baby seals ends. How do you like our design?
Last week, I shared photos of people across the globe speaking up for seals. Fortunately, many Canadians are also standing up to let the world know that they are opposed to the seal slaughter. Check out these demo photos to see what ashamed Canadians are doing to show that they're not all a bunch of barbaric orcs up north.
Are you a Canadian looking for ways to take action against the seal slaughter? You can start by signing this Facebook petition and sending it to all your Canadian friends.
Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on this Win It Wednesday. The winners of the 'Mutt Like Me' collars are christine, Kelli, and Cheri Anderson-Albert. Congratulations!
President Obama has declared that he's a mutt, so why doesn't your mixed-parentage pup do the same? It's easy with this week's "Mutt Like Me" ID tag collar giveaway.
Did you know that millions of homeless animals are euthanized in animal shelters every year? Their deaths could be prevented if people spayed and neutered their animal companions and chose to adopt rather than buying animals from pet stores or breeders. Our "Change a Life: Adopt a Mutt Like Me" ID tag collar will help you and your canine companion get the word out about adoption.
How do you win? Just leave us a comment describing the mutt(s) that stole your heart. Tell us how Fido or Spot changed your life, and the three most heartfelt answers will win a "Mutt Like Me" ID tag dog collar.
The contest ends on April 22, 2009, and we'll choose three winners on April 24, 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!
Another year has come and gone, and still our snow-covered neighbor to the north continues to back the annual massacre of baby seals—the largest and bloodiest marine-mammal hunt on Earth. With the start of Canada's seal slaughter only weeks away, we held a press conference in front of Vancouver City Hall to kick off our campaign to stop sealers from bashing the heads of hundreds of thousands of baby seals.
Vancouver will be home to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, which will put Canada on center stage for much of the coming year, and we plan to put its shameful hunt there, too, for all the world to scrutinize. We have written to the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee asking for their help with persuading government officials to outlaw the hunt.
There's no word yet on Prime Minister Stephen Harper's reaction to our press conference, but he can be sure that we will continue to be a thorn in his side until he puts an end to the bloody seal slaughter once and for all.
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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