Media Advisory - Humane Society International on Location to Document 2012 Seal Hunt

Broadcast Quality B-Roll and Stills Available For Media Download.

MONTREAL, April 10, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - "Global markets for seal products have closed," said Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane Society International/Canada. "The provincial government is providing financing so companies can stockpile seal skins, with no indication markets will ever emerge. The sealing industry has become a glorified welfare program."

WHAT:	The Humane Society International Protect Seals team is on location to document Canada's 2012 commercial seal slaughter. The 2012 quota, set by Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield, will allow for the slaughter of up to 400,000 harp seals.
WHEN:	Canada's commercial seal slaughter opened off the coast of Newfoundland half an hour before sunrise on Tuesday, April 10.
WHERE:	The northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada.
WHO:	Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane Society International/Canada has witness the seal hunt for the past 14 years.
HOW:	Email or call media contact below to receive broadcast quality b-roll and stills.

FACTS:

• Government landings reports confirm that more than 98 percent of seals killed in Canada's annual slaughter are less than 3 months of age.
  
  
• Veterinary reports consistently reveal high levels of animal suffering in commercial sealing and leading veterinary experts have suggested in recent years that Canada's commercial slaughter is inherently inhumane.
  
  
• Sealers are commercial fishermen who, on average, earn less than 5 percent of their annual incomes from sealing killing seals - the remainder comes from seafood such as crab, shrimp and lobster.
  
  
• Nearly 6,000 establishments, and more than 750,000 people, have joined a global boycott of Canadian seafood products that will continue until the seal slaughter ends. The boycott has already cost the Canadian economy many times the value of the seal slaughter.
  
  
• National polling consistently shows the overwhelming majority of Canadians want the commercial seal slaughter to end, and oppose the Canadian government using tax dollars to promote the sealing industry.
  
  
• Polling shows half of Newfoundland sealers and the majority of Newfoundlanders, holding an opinion, support a federal sealing industry buyout (Ipsos Reid 2010).

Humane Society International/Canada is a leading force for animal protection, representing tens of thousands of members and constituents across the country. HSI/Canada has active programs in companion animals, wildlife and habitat protection, marine mammal preservation and farm animal welfare. HSI/Canada is proud to be a part of Humane Society International-one of the largest animal protection organizations in the world, with more than eleven million members and constituents globally-on the Web at hsicanada.ca.

Media Contact:

Dean Pogas: 514-261-6007/514-395-2914; [email protected]