Shame of Seal Slaughter Clouds Harper's Visit to Sunny Island Nation

For Immediate Release:
25 November 2009

Contact:
David Shirk 757-622-7382

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago -- Holding signs reading, "Canada: Stop the Seal Slaughter", members of PETA will trail Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper while he's in Trinidad and Tobago for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The protesters will hold a demonstration on Thursday, 26 November (the day before the meeting), and a "seal" will appear outside the meeting from 27 to 29 November:

When:   Thursday, 26 November, 12 noon

Where:  The High Commission of Canada, Maple House, 3-3A Sweet Briar Road, St Clair, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

"The seal slaughter is a bloody stain on Canada's reputation, and Prime Minister Harper can't escape that stain no matter where he goes", says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "PETA's 'spokesseal' won't give up until the slaughter is stopped once and for all."

PETA wants Harper to use his influence to end Canada's annual seal slaughter, the largest massacre of marine mammals on Earth. During the slaughter, tens of thousands of baby seals have their heads bashed in or are shot. Sealers hook baby seals in the eyes, cheeks or mouth to avoid damaging their fur. They then drag them across the ice, often while the animals are still conscious. Many of the seals are too young to swim away from their attackers and are killed as their wailing mothers watch and mourn.

The commercial seal slaughter is an off-season profit venture for the fishing industry, and it accounts for less than 1 per cent of Newfoundland's economy. It is not a subsistence activity for native peoples. Inuit sealing accounts for only about 3 per cent of the slaughter. The European Union and the US have banned seal products, and world leaders--including US President Barack Obama, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and His Holiness The Dalai Lama--have spoken out against the carnage.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.