Written by Alisa Mullins
It's not over yet, but Iggy Pop, Perez Hilton, Kelly Osbourne, Pamela Anderson, Sarah McLachlan, Diane Warren, and all the people who have spoken out, worn the PETA shirts, and appeared in our ads in the last year have brought us closer to the end of the Canadian seal slaughter. Just weeks before the annual slaughter is set to resume, Ryan Cleary, a member of the Canadian Parliament who represents one of the regions in which the seal slaughter takes place, has acknowledged that the tremendous outcry against beating and shooting baby seals has him questioning the future of the bloody massacre. Says Mr. Cleary: "Part of our history is also whaling, for example, and the day came when the whaling industry stopped. Now, is that day coming with the seal hunt? It just may be."
© Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Cleary's statement comes just weeks after Russia announced that it was taking steps to ban the import of Canadian harp-seal fur, a move that came after Pamela Anderson led an international appeal on PETA's behalf.
Polls have consistently shown that most Canadians oppose the seal slaughter, and as Cleary noted, the industry is an increasing liability for Canada that the country is having more and more difficulty defending.
Please click here to tell Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper that yes, the time has come to send the seal slaughter the way of whale slaughter and ban it before the next massacre commences this spring.
Written by Jeff Mackey
A bit of good news from the Great White North: After years of pressure from animal rights activists—and after hearing from PETA recently—Air Canada, one of only two major North American airlines that still fly primates to laboratories, is taking steps to end the shipments. The airline has requested permission from the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) to enact a ban on transporting primates destined for experiments, a practice that the CTA currently requires Air Canada to engage in. PETA had been in contact with Air Canada about its policy as part of an international campaign to stop airlines from transporting primates to laboratories, where they will be caged, experimented on, and killed.
Recently, PETA exposed appalling cruelty to monkeys at one of the largest importers of primates in the U.S.—Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories (SNBL) in Everett, Washington—after being contacted by a distraught worker there. The photos and video footage recorded by the whistleblower show sick, distressed monkeys suffering after being injected with chemicals and subjected to violent handling.
Please support the growing number of compassionate and progressive airlines—including Delta, American Airlines, and British Airways—that are saying "No" to primate abuse, and click here to ask the Canadian Transport Authority to grant Air Canada's request to ban the shipment of primates to labs.
Click here to ask the Canadian Transport Authority to grant Air Canada’s request to ban the shipment of primates to labs
Written by PETA
To encourage Canadians to celebrate a cruelty-free Thanksgiving, sexy PETA "pilgrims" landed at Toronto's Old City Hall for a festive Tofurky giveaway. Thankful Torontonians gobbled up the demonstration—literally. The pilgrims handed out 50 delicious, meat-free Tofurky roasts in less than five minutes!
Turkeys are intelligent, affectionate animals, so please have the "grace" to leave them off the table. Remember: If you wouldn't eat your dog, don't eat a turkey.
Written by Heather Faraid Drennan
Canada's barbaric seal slaughter continues its downward spiral—and it appears to be taking Canada's integrity with it.
Last week, the European Union (E.U.) rejected an attempt by the native Canadian Inuit to challenge the E.U.'s ban on seal products. Interestingly, the Inuit live far away from the area where the mass commercial slaughter takes place and are responsible for only about 3 percent of Canada's annual seal kill. In addition, the E.U. already exempts Inuit seal products from the ban.
So why would the Inuit fight a ban that doesn't even apply to them? We're not saying that Canada is desperately exploiting native peoples to try to keep the dying seal slaughter going, but if a Marion Barry–esque tape surfaces of a shady hotel room dealing, we won't be surprised.
In the meantime, you can tweet Stephen Harper (@pmharper) and tell him to stop allowing hunters to bash in baby seals' skulls and skin them alive.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
The results are in from PETA's text-messaging poll asking people to choose the worst way that Canada abuses seals during the annual commercial baby seal slaughter, which is happening right now. Thousands voted, and here are their choices:
All the slaughter methods are barbaric, but what do you think is the worst thing that Canadian seal-killers do? Leave a comment to cast your vote, and "like" this on Facebook to ask your friends to vote too.
Just when the Canadian government thought it had figured out a way to put the money-losing seal slaughter in the black by selling seal meat to China …
Hmmm … if China doesn't want the spoils of the world's largest marine-mammal massacre, what's Canada to do? How about, um, don't club seals? Just an idea …Written by Michelle Sherrow
Chef Martin Picard abruptly quit Ottawa's upcoming Winterlude festival after concerned citizens prompted organizers to ban foie gras from the menu of the festival's opening dinner. Activists won another victory over cruelty, and organizers of the Taste of Winterlude dinner, which will be held at the aptly named Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Québec, don't seem concerned about having to say "sayonara" to Picard over the gastronomical atrocity.
"We all agreed that we could present this menu without foie gras," said festival spokesperson Lucie Caron.
Leaping into the breach is celebrated Prince Edward Island chef Michael Smith, who is big enough to think outside the gaveuse and prepare any of the millions of dishes that don't include diseased duck livers.
And so, there I am, enjoying some vegan pancakes and perusing the morning paper, when all of a sudden I realize—that's me on the front page!
Of course, I'm fine. The blood and the bashed-in head at PETA's recent demonstration weren't real—but I truly wish that I could say the same for the suffering of my brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles …
They could really use your help, too, you know?
Written by Sammy the Seal
Animal abusers take note: your misdeeds may come to light even through the ashes. A Manitoba couple who owned a hog barn that burned in a "suspicious" fire in June—just days after investigators discovered hundreds of dead and dying animals at the facility—has been charged with 23 counts of cruelty to animals. Martin and Dolores Grenier stand accused of failing to provide the pigs with adequate food, water, and veterinary care; confining them to a space without enough ventilation; leaving breaks in the slatted floor big enough for hogs to fall through and drown or get trapped below; and directly harming 10 of the animals.
The chief veterinary officer on the investigation calls this case "unusual," but if he'd spent a little time watching the videos on PETA TV, he'd know that suffering and abuse of pigs and other animals are the rule, not the exception, on factory farms. And the best way to make sure that you're not funding those who cause misery for animals is to stop eating animals.
Talk about fast results: When star PETA member Emily Lavender organized protests against horse slaughter across Canada earlier this month, one horse was saved on the spot!
Protesters outside a slaughterhouse in Québec spotted a man who was about to hand a horse over to be killed because he didn't want to pay for a medical procedure that the horse needed. They begged the man to give the horse to a sanctuary instead of sending him to a painful and terrifying death, and the man finally agreed to let the concerned group take the horse.
With the help of generous donations, the horse (now named Joe) received his surgery and is currently at a foster home, where he is relishing the freedom to run and play. Joe's former guardian used him for breeding, so he spent most of his life cooped up in a stall. Check out this happy horse!
When they stop winning races or become injured, many horses used for racing are sent to slaughterhouses in Canada, Mexico, or Japan. We can all help save horses like Joe from ending up as glue, dog food, or human food by never attending or watching horse races.
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
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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.