Written by Michelle Kretzer
Sen. Mac Harb of Ontario is Canada's first-ever elected official to introduce a bill to end the commercial seal slaughter, and now he is Canada's first-ever elected official to receive a PETA award! Sen. Harb graciously accepted his Humanitarian Award at a ceremony Saturday in New York.
Photo: Kurt Leggard
He also wrote about the award and his bill on The Huffington Post, saying:
Animal advocacy groups such as PETA have played an important role in moving us into the future. When I introduced my bill, PETA rounded up support from prominent Canadians as diverse as Sarah McLachlan and Pamela Anderson and from international figures, including Pink, Bill Maher, and Ellen DeGeneres, all of whom—along with their throngs of fans in Canada and around the world—contacted Canadian senators urging them to support the bill and end the slaughter. As a result of overwhelming support, my bill was seconded, and the Senate recently unanimously consented to continuing this debate in the coming months. This is historic, and every single person who has taken action has made a difference.
This is the closest that we have ever come to ending the barbaric bludgeoning, shooting, and skinning of baby seals for their fur.
© Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Help make Sen. Harb's bill law. E-mail Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Leader Bob Rae, and New Democratic Party Leader Thomas Mulcair and ask for their support for Bill S-210.
PETA created its Movers and Shakers Award especially for people who have earned a position of influence in the world and have chosen to use that influence to create positive changes for animals. HLN anchor Jane Velez-Mitchell is a shining example of just that type of person and received her award at a special ceremony this weekend in Washington, D.C.
Photo by Leigh Vogel
Jane has helped bring about some monumental victories for animals, including exposing to her TV audience how PETA was working to stop the U.S. Army from using monkeys in crude nerve-gas exercises, PETA's campaign to halt construction of a massive monkey-breeding facility in Puerto Rico, the suffering of dogs killed for their fur in China, PETA's undercover video of how pigs and chickens are abused on factory farms, and the cruelty to marine mammals at SeaWorld. While presenting Jane with her Movers and Shakers Award, PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk called her "a master broadcaster with a major heart who is 100 percent committed to telling the public what is going on that shouldn't be; 100 percent committed to protecting animals from needless harm."
Jane graciously accepted the award, saying:
This award means a lot to me. I love working with PETA. We have a synergy that's exciting to be part of. . . . There's no better feeling in the world than knowing that my show played a role in stopping animal abuse or alleviating animal suffering.
Catch Jane in action for animals weeknights at 7 p.m. ET on HLN.
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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