Farley Mowat Calls on Stephen Harper to End Commercial Seal

[Animal 0]

September 14, 2009

Mowat's Comments Come after Humane Society International/Canada, The HSUS and Nigel Barker Exhibit 'A Sealed Fate?'

After Humane Society International/Canada and The Humane Society of the United States recently brought Nigel Barker's traveling exhibit "A Sealed Fate?" to Toronto, well-known Canadian author, Farley Mowat, released the following statement calling the commercial seal kill a national disgrace that must be ended:

"Nigel Barker's photographs of Atlantic Canada's harp seal nurseries remind me of the first time I experienced the wonder on the pack ice of the Gulf and off the northeast of Newfoundland. A quiet and peaceful scene of seal pups out with their mothers on a sheet of ice a foot deep with bright blue skies above. That was in 1967. I also witnessed the red slaughter that ensued when the sealers came amongst them.

"The fact that this scene still plays out each spring off Canada's Atlantic coast is a national disgrace.

"I call on the people of Canada to embrace our natural world and all its beauty. As an Officer of the Order of Canada, which outranks Stephen Harper, I order him to desist and cease from the bloody slaughter on the ice. The time has come for Canada to respect and protect seals and all the wildlife in our oceans. Stop the slaughter of the innocent."

The traveling exhibition by Nigel Barker, world-renowned fashion photographer and judge on "America's Next Top Model," and a multi-time guest judge and photographer on "Canada's Next Top Model," is comprised of photographs and documentary video shot in 2008 when he joined The HSUS and HSI/Canada on the ice in Atlantic Canada and provides an intimate look at the short-lived lives of baby harp seals victimized by Canada's annual commercial seal slaughter.

"Farley Mowat is a brilliant author and a strong voice for wild animals, and his statement reflects the views of the vast majority of Canadians," said Rebecca Aldworth, director of Humane Society International/Canada. "It is time for the Canadian government to listen to its public and end this slaughter forever."
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http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/author_farley_mowat_calls_for_end_to_commercial_seal_slaughter_091409.html