Media Advisory: Humane Society International on Location to Document Commercial Seal Hunt

- Available for Comment

- Video and stills will be available for media


MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - April 11, 2014) - The Humane Society International Protect Seals Team will be on location to document the cruelty of Canada's commercial seal slaughter. The 2014 quota, set by Fisheries Minister Gail Shea, will allow the slaughter of up to 400,000 harp seals.

WHAT: Canada's commercial seal slaughter will open off Newfoundland half an hour before sunrise on Monday, April 14th. Broadcast quality video and stills will be available for media download.
WHERE: Waters off of Newfoundland's Northeast and West coasts.
WHO: Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane Society International Canada, who has witnessed the seal slaughter for the past 15 years.
HOW: Email or call media contact below to receive broadcast quality b-roll and stills.

FACTS:

- Humane Society International opposes the commercial seal slaughter in Atlantic Canada. It does not oppose the subsistence Inuit seal hunt that takes place in Canada's North.

- With global markets for seal products closing fast, Canada increasingly stands alone in its promotion of the commercial 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.

- 2010 Ipsos Reid polling shows that 50 percent of Newfoundland sealers holding an opinion supporting a federal sealing industry buyout, a plan in which sealers would be compensated for their licenses, and the resulting funds would be invested in economic alternatives in the communities involved.

- Government landings reports confirm that more than 98 percent of seals killed in Canada's annual slaughter are less than three months old.

- Veterinary reports consistently reveal high levels of animal suffering in commercial sealing, and a landmark veterinary study released in 2013 concluded bans on seal product trade are justified on ethical grounds.

- Independent scientists warn that reckless kill levels authorized by the Canadian government, paired with the impacts of climate change on the ice dependent harp seals, poses a serious ecological threat to the survival of harp seal populations.

- Sealers are commercial fishermen who, on average, earn less than 5 percent of their annual incomes from sealing; the remainder comes from seafood such as crab, shrimp and lobster.

Humane Society International/Canada is a leading force for animal protection, with active programs in companion animals, wildlife and habitat protection, marine mammal preservation, farm animal welfare and animals in research. HSI/Canada is proud to be a part of Humane Society International which, together with its partners, constitutes one of the world's largest animal protection organizations. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide - on the Web at www.hsicanada.ca

Contact Information:

Media Contact:
Christopher Pare
Office: 514 395-2914 / cell: 438 402-0643
cpare@hsi.org