PETA Targets Canadian Tourism Industry With New Seal-Slaughter TV Spot

Showing Potential Tourists Bloody Carnage Is Newest Campaign Tool

For Immediate Release:
May 5, 2010

Contact:
Ashley Gonzalez 757-622-7382 

Winnipeg, Manitoba -- Tourists are the new target in the seal wars: This week, PETA will reveal a new TV spot condemning Canada's controversial slaughter. The spot will be a key tool in the group's new campaign strategy to encourage vacationers to avoid Canada and "explore elsewhere" this year. The video--which features national anthem "O Canada" playing over footage of seals as they are clubbed to death--is in stark contrast to the cuddly seal who is featured in an ad run by the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC). PETA's ad was created just in time for Rendez-vous Canada, an annual event that hosts international buyers and travel trade media. Winnipeg is set to host this year's event.

PETA will screen the video at a news conference in Winnipeg.

When:   Thursday, May 6, 12 noon
Where:  Destination Winnipeg Corporate Office, 259 Portage Ave., between Garry and Smith streets

PETA will air the spot in the cities around the world in which Canada markets itself most heavily to tourists. The group will also run the spot on tourism Web sites and post it on YouTube as a video response to the CTC's existing ads.

"We're asking travelers to help send the message to the Canadian government that there is no excuse for allowing the seal slaughter to continue," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "The seal kill is so widely condemned that we expect people to respond well to our message and choose other vacation destinations."

During the annual seal slaughter--the largest massacre of marine mammals on Earth--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.

The commercial seal slaughter is an off-season profit venture for the fishing industry, and it accounts for less than 1 percent of Newfoundland's economy. It is not a subsistence activity for native peoples. Inuit sealing accounts for only about 3 percent of the slaughter. The European Union and the U.S. have banned seal products, and world leaders--including U.S. 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 CanadasShame.com.