In a crushing blow to Canada's annual seal slaughter, Russia, formerly Canada's top commercial market for seal fur, has banned the import of all harp-seal products.

After Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ended his country's seal slaughter in 2009, calling it a "bloody industry that should have been banned long ago," Pamela Anderson led an international appeal on PETA's behalf asking him to ban imports of seal pelts from her native country too. Now Russia, as well as Belarus and Kazakhstan, is joining the U.S., the European Union, and Mexico in refusing to support the shooting and bludgeoning of baby harp seals. 

Will this be the death knell for the seal slaughter? The Canadian government is feverishly trying to overturn the ban, so please tell Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to quit postponing the inevitable and end the killing now before the massacre resumes in the spring.

sportsillustrated.cnn / CC

Georges Laraque (or "Big George" to friends and fans) is known for duking it out on the ice as the star enforcer for the Montréal Canadiens, but these days he's fighting for animal rights.

Georges already protested a fur expo in Montréal, and now he's just delivered a slap shot to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper about the bloody seal slaughter. Georges sent a letter to Prime Minister Harper, writing, "Blood on the ice is fine when it comes to Canada's national sport because players are willing participants, but the blood of helpless baby seals that stains the ice each year is Canada's shame."

He joins other notables who have denounced the slaughter, including Canadian Senator Mac Harb, British Columbia native Pamela Anderson, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and President Obama.

I think everyone can agree that this hockey champ is a pro at sticking up for animals.

Written by Karin Bennett

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Pamela Anderson and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin? It turns out that the two of them have more in common than you might think. Namely, they are both opposed to the mass slaughter of seals.

Pamela has written to Putin suggesting that he use his political influence to help her—and many other Canadians, Russians, and people worldwide—end Canada's shame. Putin recently banned the killing of baby harp seals in Russia after calling the hunt a "bloody industry that should have been banned long ago." Pamela, a Canadian who is always a stunning PETA ambassador, has hand-delivered thousands of petition signatures to her homeland's parliament, protesting the fact that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper still allows the beating and skinning of approximately 338,200 seals every year. PETA and Pamela believe that if Putin directs his opposition of the seal slaughter at Prime Minister Harper, Harper will sit up and take note.

Written by Shawna Flavell

Well, you gotta give the guy points for trying. Courageous Canadian Senator Mac Harb introduced a bill on Tuesday to ban Canada's annual slaughter of hundreds of thousands of baby harp seals, but he failed to find even one other senator with a backbone (or heartbeat) to support it. Despite the fact that most Canadians—and everyone else on the planet—think that the baby seal massacre is as revolting and indefensible as, well, clubbing a baby human and stealing his or her candy, Canadian government officials, who apparently live in sound-proof igloos, inexplicably continue to defend it.

Senator Harb's bill marks the first—but hopefully not the last—time that a Canadian politician has proposed banning the seal slaughter. It was inspired by a pending EU ban on the importation and sale of most seal products. Even Russia—Russia, people!—is poised to ban its own seal hunt, which Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has described as "such a bloody hunt, and it is clear that it should have been banned a long time ago." Yes, Vladimir "Tiger Tamer" Putin. That Putin.

Canada, when Russia starts making you look like a big, blustering bully, you know you've got an image problem.

Written by Alisa Mullins