© Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

PETA U.K. is lambasting the judge who let convicted thief Jack Taylor out of serving jail time so that he would be free to kill baby seals and sheep.

Taylor admitted to stealing a motorcycle because he thought there were drugs under the bike's saddle. But instead of throwing the self-confessed burglar into the slammer to ponder his crime, the judge sentenced Taylor to a mere 100 hours of community service so that he could return to his two jobs: slaughtering sheep in Norway and traveling to North America seasonally to beat baby seals to death.

PETA U.K. blasted the sentence, saying, "Imagining that criminals might reform their deviant, anti-social behaviour by bludgeoning baby seals to death is not only delusional but also downright dangerous."

It is not surprising that a career animal abuser appears to be headed for a life of crime. What is surprising is that the judge apparently ignored the fact that there is a strong link between violence against animals and violence against people and that Taylor's crimes could very well escalate. Only by taking cruelty to animals seriously—reporting it when it is illegal and protesting it when it isn't—can we hope to quell the incidence of crimes against people.

sacbee / CC

Catch this small sampling of the terrific responses we're getting to PETA's Canadian maple syrup boycott:

• Joan Cushman wrote, "Canadians need to start a revolution in their own country to help the seal pups, and so when I hear it from the Canadian maple syrup makers that they are telling the government to quit, I'll support them again."
• Alan Tarpin wrote, "The Canadian fish boycott is great, but I don't eat fish, so thanks for giving me something I can do. I've done up a flier about it and pushed one under every door in my apartment building."
• Richard Ling wrote, "Sad that people listen to their business interests over their hearts. I have always loved Canadian maple syrup, hell there's a good reason the maple leaf's on their flag. This boycott is brilliant because it calls them out on an iconic product that everyone associates with Canada. I hope these guys write in support of an end to the seal killing soon so I can buy it again. Honest, I'm suffering here!"

And a special thanks to the restaurants and pancake houses that have already pledged not to buy Canadian maple syrup—at least until this massacre ends. Economic pressure is what often makes the difference.

Perhaps best of all are the pictures we've received of people throwing their Canadian maple syrup bottles in the trash can. A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. In this case, they're worth about 338,000 (that's the "quota" of baby seals who were clubbed to death this year).

We'd definitely love to see more of these pictures so we can show Canada that its reputation is in the trash can—literally. You can submit your photos here with your name, hometown, and a heartfelt message to the Canadian government. Then look for your picture here on the PETA Files later this month.

Written by Shawna Flavell