Live from the Ice

Images That Shame My Country

April 5, 2007/© The HSUS

I just saw a sealer jump from his boat onto the ice and begin to run, his club raised in the air. At first I could not see the seal he was clearly targeting. But then he stopped, and I saw a small pup raise her head as the club smashed her skull.

More boats have come to hunt here today, and the bloody carcasses are filling the ice pans. The images that shame my country so much around the world are appearing over and over again on the sea ice off of our East Coast (map).

April 5, 2007/© The HSUS

I cannot believe my government has again authorized this brutal slaughter of hundreds of thousands of pups. We have to refuel now, but will return soon to expose the tragic reality of this horrific annual slaughter.

Sealers Spotted Clubbing and Shooting Seals

April 5, 2007/© The HSUS

This morning, we flew over the ice floes of the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (map). Our helicopters searched in a grid pattern, still finding no sealing vessels.

Suddenly, from a distance, I saw the first sealing boats. They always remind me of black flies dotted across the icy landscape.

In total, seven vessels spread around the edge of the ice pack.

There are so few seal pups in this area, and yet sealers are clubbing and shooting to death every one they find. Below me on the ice, a pool of blood marked the death of another tragic victim of this awful slaughter.

April 5, 2007/© The HSUS

The blood was all that remained of the first seal we have seen killed in this year's hunt, and it is just one of countless thousands that I have watched being brutalized over the years.

Time ran out as our fuel ran low, and we had to return to our refueling site, where I am posting this report.

But we will be back in the air just minutes from now, to document Canada's 2007 commercial seal hunt.

Searching the Northern Gulf for Seals

Seals Nowhere to Be Found

I've just gotten off of the helicopter after a day that's been going nonstop since dawn. All day our two helicopters have been making flights over the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (map) to document the start of the annual seal hunt in this region.

© The HSUS
I take notes on my laptop as the helicopter is refueled.

We've flown everywhere, searching the ice floes, but we've seen no seals or sealing boats.

To document the hunt we typically search out the main herd of seals, which can number in the tens of thousands. When we find this main herd, we find the hunt. But this year, seals are simply nowhere to be found.

Thin, broken ice and higher than usual mortality rates have had a profound effect on seal pups in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Ninety percent or more of the seals born in the southern Gulf this year have died, and the few surviving pups were targeted by sealers on Monday. Things look dismal in the northern Gulf as well, where this week the ProtectSeals team spotted only a dozen seal pups.

Somewhere this hunt is happening - seal pups are being clubbed and shot to make fashion items. But we can't find seals or vessels, and fading daylight forced us to call off the search for the day. Tomorrow we will return.

Dawn in Newfoundland; Washington Post Says Pups Drowned in Melting Ice

It's just beginning to get light here as dawn breaks here on Newfoundland's coast. We know sealing boats are already in place to begin clubbing and shooting seal pups, and I am about to leave for the ice floes.

Also this morning, The Washington Post reported on what we've watched firsthand - the habitat of the seal pups melting from under them:

...as Canada's annual seal hunt begins, but a succession of unusually warm winters in the Gulf of St. Lawrence already has drowned thousands of the animals.

They also report on our efforts to stop this hunt forever:

The United States banned imports of seal products in 1972, and several European countries have moved to impose bans or restrictions. The Humane Society has promoted a boycott of Canadian seafood products to try to end the seal hunt.

Help the seals right now by joining the boycott and telling friends to join with you. If you've already signed, thank you for standing with us. If you want to do more, you can still donate or take a number of other actions to help.

We are braving some snow and freezing rain this morning to get to and document the hunt. We will bring you reports as soon as we have them. Tune in and help get the word out.

2006 Seal Hunt Film Wins International Award

On the eve of a massive slaughter of seals, we received the amazing news that our film of last year's hunt, On Thin Ice, won Best of Category in Non Broadcast at Missoula's International Wildlife Film Festival. This proves to me just how much the world wants this hunt stopped. Watch the film, share this protectseals.org website with everyone you know, and then join with us tomorrow when we embark on what I hope will be our last year documenting this awful hunt.

We Will Document This Slaughter

© The HSUS
I stand with my approved permit in
the  Department of Fisheries and
Oceans office in Newfoundland.

On the eve of the commercial seal hunt opening in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (map), the entire ProtectSeals team has finally obtained observation permits from the federal government. We will all bear witness to this tragedy, and our images will be made available to the world.

But there is frustrating news. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has stipulated only two of our helicopters may be in the hunt area at any given time. This will make it difficult for us to get all of our observers up to the ice floes as quickly as we had hoped. But the ProtectSeals team will find a way, and when the sealers begin to slaughter seals, we will be there.

During the past few days we have flown over the northern Gulf in search of the tens of thousands of seal pups that the Canadian government has insisted were there. But during our flights we found only a dozen pups. And today, the DFO admitted there are very few seals, which means many have likely died already because of the devastating ice conditions.

Still, the boats have come to hunt.

© The HSUS

Twelve sealing vessels are now in position in the northern Gulf, ready to begin the killing before dawn tomorrow. The ProtectSeals team has carried out exhaustive preparations to ensure we can document the slaughter. As I write this, our helicopters are moving fuel barrels into place, preparing for tomorrow's flights.

Somewhere out there the baby seals sleep, oblivious to the violence that will begin just hours from now. My heart breaks at the thought of another slaughter.

For all these years, I have come to this place to witness the seals' suffering. Each year as  spring arrives, a sense of despair slowly settles over me. For me, the melting snow and budding leaves are signs of impending death and suffering. For the baby seals, it is the end.

Sealers Shoot Few Remaining Pups

The baby seals are dying horribly in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Reprinted from www.lib.utexas.edu.
Canada's 2007 commercial seal hunt started today
in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The slaughter
moves to the northern Gulf on Wednesday.

Sealers have arrived, and the few pups that survived the devastating ice conditions this year are now being slaughtered without mercy.

We know sealers are shooting at these pups that cling helplessly to tiny pans of ice floating in the sea. Some are still not yet old enough to survive in the water; they have no way to escape.

In the years I have observed this hunt, I've seen so much of this kind of killing. The pups watch with frightened eyes as the sealers descend on them with their clubs and guns, forced at such a young age to understand the full extent of human violence and greed.

The thin and broken ice this year will mean even greater suffering for the pups. The Canadian government admits tens of thousands of seals that are clubbed and shot near open water each year are wounded, but then slip beneath the surface of the water where they die slowly and are never recovered. For my government, the countless thousands of suffering animals is an acceptable loss –- casualties of an industry they are determined to allow to continue. For me, they are yet another reason this hunt must be shut down for good.

The clock is ticking. In less than 48 hours, the seal hunt will begin in earnest in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The sealing boats are coming; they will be in position tomorrow. Here in Newfoundland, the ProtectSeals team has undertaken a monumental logistical operation to ensure we will be ready to meet them.

As we prepare to document another slaughter, I cannot believe we are here again - that our efforts have not yet been enough to stop the hunt. But in my heart I also know we are very, very close to ending this atrocity. We may have lost the battle to stop the 2007 seal hunt, but we are about to win the war.

Seal Hunt Opens in Secret

Canada's cruel baby seal slaughter started this morning and, for the first time in nine years, I have been denied access to the opening day of the hunt. Watch my video reaction.

Hundreds Join Fight to Stop the Hunt

© The HSUS

Hundreds of compassionate people joined our nationwide Party Animals conference call tonight, pledging their support to our crucial efforts to bring an end to Canada's commercial seal hunt.

I was struck by the overwhelming commitment of the dedicated group on the call, who gathered at 73 house parties across the country and in Ontario to help send a message to abolish the hunt.

As we prepare to once again bear witness to this brutal slaughter, we are all trying to stay positive. Tonight's call was a fantastic reminder of the fact that we are not alone up here.

We are joined by so many dedicated people the world over who are working every bit as hard as we are to bring this needless slaughter of defenseless baby seals to an end. Knowing that you are standing by the ProtectSeals team gives us the strength to continue. Thank you so much for your generosity, and for being such a powerful voice for these helpless seals.

On the eve of the seal hunt’s opening day, please take these steps to help shut down this slaughter for good:

1. Contact Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper today and every day throughout the hunt.
2. Learn how to spot Canadian seafood and sign the pledge to boycott Canadian seafood.
3. If you live in the United States, ask your U.S. Senators to co-sponsor S. Res. 118.
4. If you live in Canada, follow these steps to help stop the hunt.
5. Visit our action toolkit for more ways to protect seals.