Sometimes seals are on Sarah McLachlan's shirt. Sometimes they drive tractors. Sometimes they're in Washington, D.C.

And, as it turns out, sometimes they block the entrance to the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City to protest Canada's seal slaughter while the country's prime minister, Stephen Harper, is inside at a meeting … and then they're taken away by the police.

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This "seal of disapproval" let a crowd of people outside the hotel know that tens of thousands of harp seals are slaughtered in Canada each year.

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This seal will live to protest another day. Baby seals whose skulls are bashed in during the seal slaughter aren't as lucky.

Take action! Tell Prime Minister Harper that the seal slaughter must end.

Written by Amanda Schinke

This morning, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with President Obama at the Canadian Embassy in D.C., he got a welcome that I'm sure he won't forget any time soon.

Three "seals" covered with red paint writhed on the ground to illustrate what happens to hundreds of thousands of harp seals in Canada.

Fifteen other demonstrators held up stop signs reading, "Harper: Stop the Seal Slaughter."

With D.C. traffic already backed up, the cops weren't thrilled with the additional congestion.

Luckily, the officers weren't armed with hakapiks.

If Prime Minister Harper wants a warmer welcome next time, the first thing that he should do is stop the annual seal slaughter.

Written by Liz Graffeo

When PETA caught wind of Air Canada's financial woes, we flew into action with a tempting offer that could help keep the company flying sky high and save thousands of seals from being slaughtered on Canada's ice floes each year. PETA V.P. Dan Mathews will meet with an Air Canada representative on September 11 to discuss giving the Air Canada planes that fly between Canada and the U.S. a makeover—by wrapping them in our anti–seal slaughter ad. Check it:

In April, we asked US Airways to deck out a few of the planes that it flies in and out of Vancouver, home turf of the 2010 Olympics. Though that proposal was rejected, we haven't given up. Got any high-flying ideas about where we could place this ad next? Share your brilliance below.

Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky

This week at the summit of North American leaders, President Obama discussed his stimulus plan, which is aimed at improving the U.S. economy. It includes a "buy American" clause that requires projects funded with stimulus money to use only American goods.

Guess who's up in arms?

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Prime Minister Harper is concerned that if America switches to products made in the US of A instead of buying those made in Canada, his country will suffer a significant financial blow.

That's exactly what we've been saying!

By boycotting Canadian maple syrup—one of Canada's major revenue sources—consumers can help pressure the government to end the annual seal slaughter.

You heard the prime minister—buy American! But before you head out to the supermarket, check out these pictures from our latest demonstration outside the Canadian Consulate in Denver, Colorado:

Written by Liz Graffeo

Always one to lend a helping hand flipper, our American Maple Syrup Campaign "spokesseal" was itching to get behind the wheel of a tractor to help out one Green Bay, Wisconsin, farmer who was eager to show his support for our Canadian maple syrup boycott.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's … a seal driving a tractor?

As part of our relentless efforts to stop the Canadian seal slaughter, our seal is traversing the U.S. and urging people to choose maple syrup made in America as a way to put pressure on the Canadian government to stop the cruel killing of baby seals in Canada.

I've always wondered—does one need a driver's license to drive a syrup tractor?

So, where are you buying your syrup these days?

Written by Karin Bennett

Here's an idea that hockey star and seal defender Georges Laraque would probably like to take credit for: We're planning to place a giant version of our Olympic Shame 2010 logo under the ice at several Canadian skating rinks. After all, denizens of the Great White North love their icy sports. Once they start slipping and sliding around the rink, they won't be able to miss our message that the 2010 Olympics will be hopelessly tarnished if the seal slaughter isn't permanently canceled before Vancouver's big show. Pretty slick idea, if you'll pardon the pun.

Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky

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A few months ago, we told you about a vote by the European Union (E.U.) to end the sale of seal products. Well, now is the time to do a little victory dance, because the ban has just been finalized! According to the AP, Canada exported about $5 million worth of seal products to the EU last year, so this ban is another big blow to the country's annual seal massacre.

Since most of Europe has denounced the shameful slaughter of baby seals loud and clear, you'd think that Canada's government would finally get a clue and take action to end the annual bloodbath, right?

Think again.

Sorry to say, but once again, instead of enacting the ban that good people around the world—including a great many in Canada—are demanding, the Canadian government continues to pour all its efforts into keeping the massacre going. Until the last minute, it was still lobbying the E.U. to change its mind.

Canadian bureaucrats can be pretty thickheaded, but we are determined to keep the pressure on them until they can't ignore it any longer. That means pushing the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Games to get involved, buying American maple syrup instead of Canadian, and spreading the word to get other folks involved too!

Written by Jeff Mackey

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

Oof.

I imagine this is what a certain fur hag might look like on a "good" day.

PETA's "Grim Reapers" recently greeted tourists at a crowded tour-bus stop in Toronto to reveal frightening facts about Canada's shame: the cruel slaughter of baby seals for their fur. Their scary outfits didn't stop tourists from high-fiving them—and tour bus operators were eager to point out our demonstrators to their passengers.

I'm dying to know: Which fugly fur wearer does our "Grim Reaper" most remind you of?

Written by Karin Bennett

Halifax native Sarah McLachlan, who is in Ottawa today to perform a concert in celebration of Canada Day, has wasted no time in letting her native land know how upset she is about the government's refusal to stop the annual seal slaughter. In an interview today with Canada's CTV News—during which she wore PETA's "Hug Me, Don't Club Me" tee—Sarah said, "The commercial sealing industry in Canada is perverse and sick. … They club these seals as early as 12 days old, and half the time they hook them and they drag them across the ice. … It's archaic, and it's horrible, and I want it to stop."

Check out all the other great things that she had to say:

Written by Shawna Flavell