FOR THE VOICELESS - A STEP - BUT ITS NOT OVER...

LATEST:Thursday, May 07, 2009 The Beginning of the End of the Canadian Seal Hunt WAR] The Beginning of the End of the Canadian Seal Hunt‏ From:Sent:To:*****Cross Post Freely*****Note from WAR: The EU ban of seal products is profoundly good news. It is truly the beginning of the end for the Canadian seal slaughter, which we have worked so hard against in the past years. But, IT IS NOT OVER. On Monday, the seal killers went back out onto the ice to continue the slaughter. WE MUST NOT REST UNTIL THE KILLING IS STOPPED.Look for our action alert later today for the time and date of our next protest at the residence of the Canadian Consul General, Daniel Sullivan. As we approach Mother's Day, take a moment to think about the brutal murder of baby seals, in front of their mothers and resolve to keep fighting until the seal are safe from harm.EU ban looms over seal productsSome 15 species of seals are hunted worldwideThe European Parliament has voted to ban the sale of seal products in the 27-nation EU.The legislation follows lobbying by animal welfare groups, which have long argued that the clubbing of seal pups by hunters is barbaric.Canada kills about 300,000 seals annually off its east coast - the biggest such hunt in the world.The EU law would exempt seal products from Canada's Arctic Inuit community, who are traditional hunters.The vote - 550 in favour and 49 against - threatens to overshadow EU-Canadian trade talks opening in the Czech capital Prague on Wednesday.Inuit pressureThe proposed ban still requires the agreement of EU ministers to take effect. But it is likely to be imposed before the 2010 hunting season starts, correspondents say.An Inuit delegation from Canada's Nunavut territory tried to persuade MEPs not to back the ban.A delegation member, Joshua Kango, said a European ban in 1983 on the import of whitecoat and blueback seal pelts had hit the Inuit hard, despite a similar exemption.He said the exemption "didn't stop the market collapse, and the hardship and the suicides that followed throughout our communities".Labour MEP Arlene McCarthy, who helped draft the new EU ban, said "the vast majority of people across Europe are horrified by the cruel clubbing to death of seals and this law will finally put an end to the cruel cull of nearly 300,000 seals a year".Canada has threatened to complain to the World Trade Organization (WTO) if the EU ban goes ahead, the AFP news agency reports.Besides Canada, seal hunting is also big business for Greenland - a Danish territory - and Namibia.Seals are hunted not only for fur, but also for the production of gloves and Omega-3 fatty acid supplements.In the EU, seals are culled on a much smaller scale in Sweden, Finland and the UK, mainly for fish stock management. The International Fund for Animal Welfare says the EU ban will not apply to such culling, which comes under "sustainable management of marine resources".The MEPs' move is a follow-up to proposals last year from the EU's Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas. He said his office had received thousands of demands for a ban - mostly from campaigners in the UK, the US and Canada.Anti-hunt campaigners say some seals are skinned while still conscious. Hunters typically shoot the seals with rifles or bludgeon them to death with spiked clubs. The animals' pelts, fat and meat are traded.Belgium and the Netherlands have already banned seal products and the United States has banned Canadian seal products since 1972.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8033498.stm For more info contact Win Animal Rights at: [email protected]: 646.267.9934 or visit the WAR website at: http://war-online.orgW.A.R. (WIN ANIMAL RIGHTS) is an independent non-profit organization not affiliated or associated with SHAC, SHAC USA or any other group or organization and does not conduct or incite any illegal activity. The above information is not meant to incite or request any illegal actions or illegal activities of any kind. If you have any questions about the legality of any act, we encourage everyone receiving this (or the) action alert(s) to check your local laws and ordinances before proceeding to do anything.Dear ALL,We just achieved a landmark victory for the seals!Today, the European Parliament made history when it voted overwhelmingly to ban trade in seal products. This vote means that all three European Union (EU) institutions -- the Commission, the Council, and the Parliament -- are now in agreement, and seal products will no longer be placed on the market within the EU.Europe has been a primary market for Canadian seal products, and many believe this ban spells the beginning of the end of the slaughter!We could not have won this victory without you. Your letters, phone calls, faxes, and emails to MEPs, national governments, and other decision-makers showed that Europeans care deeply about the seals, and made it clear that the public expected nothing less than a strong ban.We know that closing markets saves seals’ lives. Just the prospect of an EU ban on seal product trade was enough to drive the prices for seal fur down to just $15 Canadian per skin this year -- a decline of 86 percent since 2006. Many sealers chose not to hunt seals this year as a result -- and to date, out of a quota of 338,200 seals, just 57,622 have been killed. It is likely that when the seal hunt officially ends on 15 May, a quarter of a million seals will have been spared a horrible death. Now that the EU has banned its trade in seal products, countless more seals will live out their lives in peace from this year forward.On our trips to the ice, Humane Society International has brought key opinion shapers such as Paul McCartney and Swedish Member of the European Parliament Carl Schlyter. After their trips, neither has wavered in speaking out against the hunt. Shortly after his trip to the ice, Carl drafted the first version of today’s EU ban. Our hunt footage was directly responsible for convincing the rest of the EU to agree to the ban. It gives me enormous satisfaction to know that we haven’t just documented the hunt, we have made history.But even as we celebrate this amazing victory, we must remain vigilant. Because there is every chance the sealing industry will develop new markets.That is why we will continue maintaining economic pressure on Canada’s fishing industry through our boycott of Canadian seafood products. We will continue pressing for a strong law in Canada to stop commercial sealing. And we will continue to lobby other nations to ban seal products.Please join us as we finally put an end to the cruel slaughter of baby seals. Become a monthly supporter of Humane Society International and help us keep the pressure on Canada. We are thrilled by our success in passing this ban today, but there is still more to be done.We are so close to putting this cruelty in the history books where it belongs -- thank you for being a part of this historic campaign to save the seals. I know we can count on you to stay with us as we bring a final end to Canada's commercial seal slaughter.Celebrating this moment,Rebecca Aldworth Director Humane Society International/Canada> > Dear ALL > > Since you've been one of our best advocates for seals, I wanted > to drop you this short note with some key updates - and to > remind you about our contest to win a trip to Canada's harp seal > nursery next spring! > > First, this coming Tuesday, the European Parliament will vote on > a proposal to ban seal product trade in the European Union. If > you haven't already, please sign our petition in support of a > total ban: https://community.hsus.org/campaign/bansealtrade_challenge09 /ik3x3ws4f7kdtejb? > > It's extremely important that your Members of the European > Parliament hear from you, too. Send them an email today: > https://community.hsus.org/ct/zdNLPc91B4qO/MEPs > > Second, the deadline is quickly approaching for our contest to > win a trip to the harp seal nursery! The person who gets the > greatest number of friends to sign our petition for seals will > win a trip for two to the Canadian ice floes next spring to see > thousands of cute baby seals and their mothers. > > It's easy to enter. Use our simple tell-a-friend form to ask > everyone you know to sign our petition: > https://community.hsus.org/campaign/bansealtrade_challenge09 /forward/ik3x3ws4f7kdtejb? > > The contest deadline is 4:00 AM GMT on 5th May 2009. That means > you have the whole weekend to spread the word! > > The more you share the petition, the better your odds of winning > the contest and the stronger our message to the European > institutions. Invite your friends, family, and colleagues to > sign today: https://community.hsus.org/campaign/bansealtrade_challenge09 /forward/ik3x3ws4f7kdtejb? > > I'll be in touch again on Monday, the last day before the vote > in Parliament. We are so close to achieving this momentous > victory for the seals - please join me in this final push. > Together we can win! > > Thank you so much for standing with me and the rest of the > ProtectSeals team. > > Sincerely, > > Rebecca Aldworth > Director > Humane Society International/Canada > > **************************************** > Copyright (c) 2009 Humane Society International (HSI) > All Rights Reserved. | Humane Society International > 2100 L Street, NW | Washington, DC 20037 USA | 301-258-3010 > [email protected] | > https://community.hsus.org/ct/z7NLPc91B4qW/website > **************************************** Dear ALL,One week. In just one week, European Union decision-makers will vote on a proposal that could mark the greatest milestone yet in our campaign to end cruel commercial seal slaughter in Canada and around the world.Next week, the European Parliament will decide whether or not to ban EU trade in seal products. Tell your government you support the ban.After months of working toward this moment, after the heartbreak of witnessing this year's seal slaughter in Canada, we have reached the final stretch in our fight to close European markets to this traffic in animal cruelty. By reducing demand, we can drive down the price for seal skins even further and leave the sealers no reason to kill seals.The lives of millions of innocent seal pups will be saved.TAKE ACTIONNow is the time for Europeans to act. You have the power to make this ban happen. Animal advocates across the globe are waiting and watching, each holding their breath, hoping against hope. It is up to you to help ensure that EU officials vote for a total ban when the time comes. We need you, as constituents of these decision-makers, to let your leaders know how the people feel on this issue.There are three simple steps you can take today to help save the seals:1) Keep spreading the word! More than 200,000 individuals have already signed our petition to pass a total ban on the trade in seal products. Thank you for asking your friends to join our campaign -- please tell everyone you know! Signatures will be forwarded to the European Parliament and European Commission. Remember, the EU citizen who recruits the most friends to sign by 5th May will win a trip to visit the Canadian harp seal nursery next spring.2) Send a message to your Members of the European Parliament. Let your country's representatives know that its citizens care about animals and want this needless suffering stopped.3) Write to your Environment Minister. Ministers of each nation have already made their positions known -- if yours is pro-ban, ask him or her to stand firm, or help convince those who aren't!If this ban passes, many believe it will spell the end of the commercial slaughter in Canada. Help us keep the promise I made to these animals on my very first visit to the ice -- that one day they will be able to live out their lives in the peace and beauty of the pristine Canadian ice floes.Thank you for all you are doing to save the seals.Counting on you,Rebecca Aldworth Director Humane Society International/CanadaP.S. Want to do even more? HSI has set up a giant TV screen in front of the Parliament building in Brussels this week. Send us your photo with a message of support for the seals and we will display it on the screen! Email your photo to [email protected] or tag it on Flickr with "EUsealpix"***https://community.hsus.org/humane/notice-descr iption.tcl?newsletter_id=33103503 ***Well....finally after many attempts... the heroic Dean has wrestled the 8 track into submission (would that he could do the same to the Canadian seal hunters)...we now have an in synch track! Many thanks Dean, Jean, Jan and Mitch. XXXX p.s. BOYCOTT SEAFOOD FROM CANADA. XOn a sunny Sunday... fabulous Dean and Jean Hill opened their house and it became our studio to record this song for the seals. Dean wrestled with an 8 track till it was dark.. and didnt stop until we he managed six days later to send me the final mp3. So with no middle 8..No chorus and a relentless repetition of four chords... up it goes... just a cry to the world while this barbaric hunt continues. I thank Jean for loaning us your lovely home and husband so that he could play guitar and wrestle with that 8 track! and mitch harp hog logan for his beautiful mournful harp. Jan-Black Spring Rising-Whetton for helping us too. I will put the lyrics in the blog..for those of you who would like to read this protest song about the Canadian seal hunt. PLEASE SEE TOP FRIEND the awesome PAUL WATSON and details of his incredible hands on fight for the creatures of the sea.XXXXXXXXXXXXXConfirmed: First Baby Seal Killed in Canada's Annual Hunt If you have taken action already, please forward this message to friends and family. Every voice makes a difference!Last year's hunt left more than 200,000 seals dead - clubbed, shot and skinned in the largest commercial hunt of marine mammals in the world. Many were babies as young as 12 days old. This year, Canada's government is allowing 280,000 of these beautiful creatures to be slaughtered!Let the European Parliament know you support a total ban on seal product trade >>But there is new hope for the seals. The European Commission put forward a proposal to ban the import and trade in seal products in the European Union - a move many believe is a historic step towards ending cruel commercial seal slaughters around the world.However, the Commission has included a problematic loophole in the proposal that would allow countries that meet certain inadequate standards of slaughter to continue trading seal products in the EU! Such an exemption would allow countries to improve their regulations on paper while the cruelty continues in the field unchecked.Sign the petition letter >>The good news is that there is still time to act. The proposal is now before the European Parliament, where this loophole can be removed. European citizens and their parliamentarians want a strong law - one that stops all trade in products derived from commercial seal slaughters, which are inherently inhumane.Please show your support for an unconditional prohibition on seal product trade >>Thank you for taking action today. Warmly, Robyn E. Care2 and the Petition Site TeamP.S. This senseless killing will not stop unless we raise our voices in unison! If you have already added your name to this petition, please forward this email to your friends, family and collegues. Or simply send them this link: https://community.hsus.org/campaign/care2_EU_seals_petition2 ************************************************************ *** LATEST UPDATE!!!!!!After the sealing vessels left yesterday, we landed on the ice to document the aftermath. We passed one pup who had crawled into a small cave formed by ice. He hid his head as we approached, clearly terrified. I tried to talk softly to him, to let him know that it would be okay. But he just lay there, hiding his head.This 3-week old seal pup had just seen hundreds of others beaten to death in front of him. To him, people now mean clubs and violence and pain.Please, help save seals from the clubs of sealers: Make an emergency donation to help seals now.It took less than three days for sealers to slaughter 19,200 seal pups. The ProtectSeals team was there to document as they killed virtually every seal in sight.We filmed this horror -- the tiny carcasses such a stark reminder that this is a slaughter for fur. They died by the thousands here, painfully, just to produce fur coats that no one needs.On Friday, the killing starts again, and the team is heading to the remote area where this next phase will occur. Please be a part of our team. Please help sustain our work on the ice to save these seals.We need to show the world that the carnage is worse than ever -- and that despite the Canadian government's promises, the hunt is as cruel and merciless as ever.Thank you for standing with us -- having so many of you behind us at home makes all the difference.Sincerely, Rebecca Aldworth Director Humane Society International/Canada**************************************** ************************ LATESTLATESTLATESTLATESTLATESTLATESTLATESTLATESTIt took fewer than three days for sealers to slaughter 19,200 seal pups last week. The ProtectSeals team was there, and it was clear the sealers didn't want any witnesses. As soon as they saw us, one group stopped their grisly work, got back on their vessel, and left.The sealers know that our images of the slaughter are their undoing. They know the world is watching when they violate Canada's toothless humane killing regulations and don't check to see if a pup is conscious before slicing her open.And they know that the world is turning its back on this cruel, commercial hunt, as nation after nation bans seal hunting or the trade in seal products.Will you stand with me and help tell the world what's happening in this remote, pristine habitat? Here's how you can speak up for seals at this critical point in the struggle to end the hunt:Sign the pledge to boycott Canadian seafood until the hunt is over. THEN tell 5 friends about the boycott by MIDNIGHT today -- you could win a trip to New York City to meet Iron Chef Cat Cora! The more you share the pledge, the better your odds of winning the contest and the stronger our message to Canada's fishing industry that its bottom line will suffer as long as seals do.Ask Clearwater, a major seafood company in the sealing provinces, to use its influence to end the hunt.Get mobile alerts -- we'll text you with the latest about the hunt. We'll also let you know what you can do to help end the hunt forever.I have a heavy heart after seeing what I've seen in the last week. But I take solace in knowing that your support has brought us to the brink of victory for the seals and that we may never again have to witness this unspeakable cruelty.Thank you so much for standing with me and the rest of the ProtectSeals team.Sincerely, Rebecca Aldworth Director of Canadian Wildlife Issues The Humane Society of the United StatesWE DONT HAVE LONG TO STOP THE SEAL HUNT IN CANADA http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AFlLF/zjYz/AdoZU PLEASE SIGN IF YOU CARE! THANKYOUX

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For the voiceless - I want to add my voice... to the other voices.. who are helping to raise awareness about the suffering of animals...everywhere... Let us hope that change will come soon.PLEASE VIEW THE SLIDE SHOW WITH CAUTION..SOME OF THE IMAGES ARE VERY UPSETTING.PLEASE SHARE THE SLIDE SHOW BELOW...TO HELP RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE ANIMAL CRUELTY IN CHINA.....FOR MORE INFO PLEASE SEE MY TOP FRIEND...MESSAGE TO CHINA... THANKYOU. X.. ..AND NOW A WONDERFUL HOPEFUL FILM...THAT I FOUND ON A FREINDS SITE....FROM THEIR FRIEND LORI....SEEING IS BELEIVING...A HUMAN - ANIMAL ENCOUTER = LOVE X And please watch about Rabbits in Fur Farms. Thankyou. SAY NO TO FUR ..
Find out more about Armani on peta.org .
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