Seals saved!

You may have already heard the GREAT NEWS!

The seal hunt that was set to take place on Hay Island has been called off! Thank you to everyone who helped save the seals!

Hay Island is part of the Scaterie Island Wilderness Conservation Area, just off Cape Breton. We had been lobbying the Nova Scotia Environment Minister, Sterling Belliveau. He amended the Wilderness Areas Protection Act (in a record 5 days!) to allow for the commercial killing of grey seal pups. The meetings we had left us feeling unsuccessful, the Minister telling us that there was no way he would call a moratorium - so this news has come as a pleasant surprise.

Click here for the full news article: http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm?sid=329896&sc=145

The quota this year was set for over 2,000 pups. For the past few years, this hunt has gone largely undetected, overshadowed by the larger commercial hunt on the Gulf of St. Lawrence and then at "the Front", the east side of Newfoundland. [In spite of there being little ice this year for the seals to whelp (meaning a high mortality rate for pups), hunts in the Gulf and on the Front are set to go ahead.]

The EU ban on seal product imports will have a tremendous impact on this year's hunt. But our work is not yet finished. The Canadian government has yet to act in a progressive and humane way to resolve the complex issue of the hunt, for the seals and for the citizens of the east coast who eek out a living by risking their lives for a few dollars. We must continue to speak out on behalf of the seals.

Every year for the past three years, the quota for animals killed has increased. The quota for 2010 is set to be announced mid-March.

Please let the Minister know that it's time to end Canada's shameful commercial seal hunt. For more information, visit http://www.hsicanada.ca/wildlife/seals/seal_hunt_2010/

The Honourable Gail Shea
House of Commons
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Parliament Buildings
Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1A 0A6
Min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

With gratitude for your help,
Lia and the AAEVPC crew