PETA, Pam Anderson Demand Gov't Accountability for Millions Spent Supporting Seal Slaughter

PETA VP to Give Talk at University of Toronto About Taxes Wasted on Seal Slaughter

For Immediate Release:
March 31, 2010

Contact:
Shakira Croce  757-622-7382 

Toronto, ON -- PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews will give a talk titled "How Much Does the Seal Slaughter Cost Canada?" on Thursday, publicly revealing for the first time PETA's new initiative--spearheaded by Pamela Anderson--to compel the Canadian government to be forthright with taxpayers about the millions of dollars that it takes to maintain the internationally condemned massacre of baby seals.

When:    Thursday, April 1, 7 p.m.
Where:   Koffler House, 569 Spadina Ave. (Multi-Faith Centre, Rm. 108), University of Toronto

In letters sent this week to three government departments, Anderson officially requested records of all funds spent in support of the seal slaughter. On Thursday, Mathews will hold up for inspection the many expenses that the Canadian government undertakes to enable a few small fishing villages to earn pocket change in an off-season venture. Such expenses include lavish trips to China to produce seal-fur fashion shows, lobbying efforts to fight the European Union and U.S. bans on seal products, activist surveillance, and millions of dollars spent by the coast guard to monitor the slaughter. The expenses total an estimated C$7 million for an enterprise that netted only C$1 million last year.

"Whether you care about animals or worry only about government waste, this is an issue that should be of great concern to every Canadian citizen," says PETA Executive Vice President Dan Mathews. "The world wonders why this government persists in stubbornly throwing money away so that a small number of individuals can afford to go out onto the ice and bludgeon to death hundreds of thousands of helpless baby seals."

The author of Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir and a frequent guest on programs such as Larry King Live, Mathews is a lively and compelling debater who has spoken at Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia. This event is sponsored by the University of Toronto student group Students Against Climate Change and is free and open to the public.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.