This week, in just a little over two days, 19,000 defenceless harp seal pups were slaughtered off the Magdalen Islands in Canada, their skins removed and their carcasses left to rot on the ice. In the next day or two up to 1,700 pups just a few weeks old will be cruelly bludgeoned and shot to death off the coast of Nova Scotia. As I write this I am readying myself to bear witness to their suffering and wanted to let you know that there are many ways in which you can help right now to end this atrocity. Below are just a few. Please take a moment to take action now. Thank you.

1.

Send an Email to Canada's Ambassador urging support of the "Harb" Seal Bill to end the hunt

For the first time in history, a Canadian politician is proposing a law to end the suffering of baby seals. Senator Mac Harb consulted with International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) on this critical legislation and now he has asked us to help flood Canadian Embassies with messages of support. Please help IFAW reach 200,000 emails and letters in the next few weeks: one for every seal killed this year. This is our chance to end the hunt forever.

It couldn't be easier. Please visit IFAW's website stopthesealhunt.org and use their email form to quickly and easily send an email to Canada's Ambassador Michael Wilson with a copy to the European Parliament. You can send the email as is or rewrite it in your own words. Please take a moment to send it today.

2.

Urge senators to second the "Harb" Seal Bill

On March 3rd, Senator Mac Harb introduced an historic bill to end the commercial seal hunt in Canada. For the first time, Canadians can support a legislative initiative in our own country that would save hundreds of thousands of defenseless seal pups each year from the end of a club or a bullet.

Senator Harb has just a few more weeks to find another Senator to second his bill. If the bill is seconded, it must be publicly debated - marking the beginning of the end for this cruel hunt. Please write these five Senators asking them to show their courage by stepping up to the plate and seconding the Harb Seal Bill.

It couldn't be easier. Please use the email form at the website of International Fund for Animal Welfare to quickly and easily send your request to five senators.

3.

Urge your senators to support the "Harb" Seal Bill

On March 3rd, Senator Mac Harb introduced a historic bill to end the commercial seal hunt in Canada. For the first time, Canadians can support a legislative initiative in our own country that would save hundreds of thousands of defenseless seal pups each year from a horrible fate.

Sadly, no other Senator has yet stepped forward to support the bill, and many are organizing to work against it. We risk the “Harb Seal Bill” being lost if we do not act quickly.

As a Canadian, speaking up for the seals has never been more crucial. Please take a moment now to send a message to your province's Senators -- copying your Member of Parliament -- urging support for Bill S-229 (the “Harb Seal Bill”) to end the seal slaughter.

It couldn't be easier. Please visit Humane Society International Canada's ProtectSeals website and use their email form to quickly and easily to generate a list of senators from your province and send an email to them on your behalf.

4.

Sign a Petition Calling on the Canadian government to abolish the commercial hunting of seals and amend the Fisheries Act to reflect the same

Please download and sign the petition being circulated throughout Canada stating that as residents of Canada we want the government to put a stop to commercial seal hunting and to amend the Fisheries Act to abolish the commercial hunting of seals. Please also urge all of your friends to sign the petition, and send it by April 1st to the address indicated on the form.

1.

Tell the Canadian government to stop using your hard-earned tax dollars to subsidize and defend the cruel and unnecessary slaughter of seals

Polling consistently shows that the majority of Canadians oppose the commercial seal hunt, and object to their tax dollars being used to defend it both at home and abroad. Yet every year the Canadian government pours millions of our tax dollars into supporting and facilitating the commercial killing of seals on the east coast of Canada. It's time to tell the Canadian government that enough is enough!

Everything you need is on our Action Alert page - names, email addresses and suggested email text. Please feel free to use the text as is, adapt it to your liking, or draft your own.

2.

Tell Nova Scotia's Fisheries Minister Ron Chisholm "HANDS OFF SABLE ISLAND GREY SEALS!"

Nova Scotia Fisheries Minister Ron Chisholm has been lobbying the federal government on behalf of Nova Scotia fishermen to gain access to Sable Island, a Crown-held protected area home to a large breeding colony of grey seals, with the aim of slaughtering an unprecedented number of grey seals in Nova Scotia. This would spell disaster for Nova Scotia's grey seals and drive this wonderful species to extinction.

Everything you need is on our Action Alert page - names, email addresses and suggested email text. Please feel free to use the text as is, adapt it to your liking, or draft your own.

Please act now to ensure the Canadian commercial seal hunt is ended and Canadian seals are protected. Thank you.

Bridget Curran, Director
Atlantic Canadian Anti-Sealing Coalition
Join Us. End It.
www.antisealingcoalition.ca