This morning the sun was shining in Newfoundland. As I looked out over the sparkling water, I found it impossible to reconcile the stunning beauty of this landscape with the ugliness of the hunt happening just beyond the horizon. Today, the seal hunt moves northeast of Newfoundland (map), out of range of our helicopters, to an area called the "Front."
In less than 24 hours, we expect that thousands of seal hunters on hundreds of sealing vessels will kill well over 100,000 baby seals in this area.
April
10, 2007/© The HSUS
I've seen this part of the seal hunt many times in the past. The scale and intensity of the slaughter are shocking - sealing boats stretch across the horizon as far as the eye can see, and the sealers work frantically to kill as many animals as quickly as possible. Within hours, the vast ice floes are covered in blood.
Although the number of animals killed in the Front is greater, the killing looks exactly the same as the hunting by Newfoundlanders that we witnessed earlier this month in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The baby seals are shot or clubbed, then stabbed with metal hooks and dragged onto boats. The sealers rarely check to ensure the animals are dead before skinning them, and too often the seals are still conscious when this horrible act occurs.
April
10, 2007/© The HSUS
Our work here on the ice floes is nearing an end for the year. We have gathered a tremendous body of evidence to show the inherent cruelty of this hunt. Now begins the challenge of convincing decision makers around the world to take action on behalf of the seals.
Our goal is simple: to ensure this brutality is never allowed to happen again. And this is when we need you the most. For long after the 2007 seal hunt ends, The HSUS will be campaigning to stop this slaughter from repeating.
It is you, our supporters, who are our best weapons in our fight to save the seals. Please remember to tell everyone you know about what the Canadian government is trying so desperately to hide.
The fate of the seals rests in all of our hands. Together, we will not fail them.
Rebecca Aldworth, The HSUS director of Canadian Wildlife Issues, grew up in Newfoundland and has been a longtime observer of the Canadian seal hunt. Follow along as she documents her ninth trip to the ice and faces the cruelty firsthand.
