Sable Island Seals

On September 22, Liz and a number of others met with Parks Canada staff to discuss Sable Island. Present at the meeting were Barry Kent-McKay (Born Free Foundation), Rebecca Aldworth (Humane Society International Canada), David Lavigne (International Fund for Animal Welfare) and Bridget Curran (Atlantic Canadian Anti-Sealing Coalition).

After reviewing a number of documents, Animal Alliance presented a report to Parks Canada, all of which is available on-line at http://www.environmentvoters.org/Resources.html.

If you haven't already, please send a letter to the Honourable Gail Shea - we must make our elected officials understand that Sable Island must be left untouched. Personal letters are best but a sign-on letter is available to download, also at the above link.

From the Parks Canada website:

The following steps give an overview and outline of the expected sequence of events for Sable Island:

• Public consultations to secure public comment on the conservation, management and operational issues associated with the designation of Sable Island as a national park;

• Consultations with the Mi’kmaq and other key stakeholders;

• The governments of Canada and Nova Scotia would then negotiate any required park
establishment agreement;

• The federal government would then introduce legislation resulting in the legal designation of Sable Island as a national park of Canada;

• Parks Canada would then prepare a management plan, outlining key strategies and detailed objectives regarding ecological integrity, visitor experience and public education.