Right Honorable Stephen Harper
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington St. Ottawa
Ontario, Canada K1A OA2
1-613-992-4211
Fax: 613-941-6900
E-mail:
pm@pm.gc.ca Dear Prime Minister Harper,
The International Anti-Fur Coalition is an alliance of animal welfare and animal rights organizations based in more than 40 cities and nearly 30 countries worldwide. This global network is drawn together by our common goal of eradicating the suffering of fur-bearing animals. We write to express our fervent opposition to the Canadian seal-hunt.
As the newly elected leader of Canada, you take the helm of your country with clean hands and with the opportunity to leave a legacy of compassion and humaneness. You have inherited the policies of your predecessors and cannot be held to blame for them. However, with your new position of power, you accept great responsibility and are accountable for the choices you make now. You have an obligation to all Canadians to effect their wishes, to do what is in their best interest, what is in Canada's best interest. And as a human being you have the same responsibility we all have to minimize the harm we inflict on the other creatures with whom we share the planet. Your duties as Prime Minister and as a human being are not inconsistent. What is good for the seals is good for Canada. Thus, we urge you to ban the seal hunt immediately. Until you do, we will continue to boycott all Canadian seafood and all travel to your country.
It is hard to imagine how a civilized nation such as Canada could defend an utterly brutal massacre of innocent lives. Yet the government takes a proud and defiant tone in defense of the hunt. It is understandable that in order to justify such unspeakable atrocities, Danny Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, has resorted to telling lies and making unfounded accusations. Despite Mr. Williams' claims, neither the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) nor the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) has ever taken the position that the hunt is humane and well managed. In contrast, an independent veterinary study conducted in 2001 found that 42% of the seals examined had likely been skinned alive while conscious. The same study further found that 40% of seals were shot or clubbed and left to suffer, and at least 30, of the179 observed, were hooked while still alive.
The justifications given for the hunt include economic benefits, preserving a way of life and preserving fish populations. However, not one of these arguments can be sustained. Sealing is primarily conducted off-season by a few thousand fishermen who make only a small fraction of their annual incomes from sealing. To the extent that the seal hunt generates income, that income can be replaced with other non-lethal activities such as whale watching, or seal watching for that matter. Why not subsidize such a peaceful activity rather than the massacre of primarily baby animals? Furthermore, justifying the hunt because it has been done for 500 years is simply a non sequitur. Slavery has been practiced for most of human history, and yet I am nearly certain you would not argue that precedent makes slavery acceptable today. Finally, as even Mr. Williams has acknowledged, the primary reason for cod depletion in Canadian waters is over-fishing by humans, not seals. And so, we are left to wonder, why then? Why the senseless slaughter of the innocent?
Prime Minister Harper, for whom are you fighting this battle in support of the seal hunt? According to a 2005 poll, 69% of Canadians are opposed to the commercial seal hunt, and yet Canadian taxpayers are forced to subsidize it. Like the blood staining your ice-floes, the seal slaughter stains the image of Canadians throughout the world. This is terribly unfair to the majority of Canadians who stand with the international community in their opposition to the hunt.
As you must know well by now, international pressure against the seal-hunt is building and opposition is strong. We urge you to act immediately to end this massive and unnecessary slaughter. What you do now will determine how you are to be remembered throughout history. Will you be remembered as a savior or an assassin? Will you be remembered for expanding the circle of compassion to the less fortunate or for closing your ears as millions of animals scream out in agony, pleading in their own way for help? Will you be remembered for giving a voice to the voiceless, the least fortunate members of your society, or for coldly closing your eyes and turning away at the sight of ice-caps stained red with the blood of millions of innocent, sentient creatures? As Harriet Beecher Stowe put it: "It's a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best people have always done." We implore you Prime Minister Harper, to exercise your power and save these animals. You will have the support of the majority of Canadians, the world and posterity.
Yours Sincerely,
Rosa Close
Tracey Glover, Sq Jane Halevi
www.antifursociety.org
http://fur.arforum.org/?lang=en INTERNATIONAL ANTI-FUR COALITION MEMBERS
Location Organization / info Contact person Telephone
Tel Aviv, Israel info Jane Halevi (world coordinator) 050-2005411
++972-50-2005411
Washington DC Anti-Fur Society Rosa Close e-mail
Los Angeles, CA (Feb. 12) In Defense of Animals / furkills.org Bill Dyer 310-301-7730
San Francisco, CA In Defense of Animals / furkills.org Melissa Gonzalez 415-388-9641 ext. 228
New York City, NY (Feb. 20, due to weather) Win Animal Rights Camille Hankins 646-267-9934
Vienna, Austria PETA.at and VGT.at Jürgen Faulmann 0676-544-0763
Istanbul, Turkey HAYKOD Ahmet Kemal Şenpolat 532 320 60 12
Innsbruck, Austria (Feb. 18) Tierschutz aktiv Tirol Katharina Wirnitzer (0650) 590 17 94
Cape Town, South Africa Voice of the voiceless Chantel Shakiera Sayed 082 4917763 / 021 556 7409
Seoul, Republic of Korea Animal Freedom Korea Eunjeong Park 82-2-2292-6337
Berlin, Germany Tierversuchsgegner Berlin und Brandenburg e.V. Brigitte Jenner 030 815 81 99
Berlin, Germany Tierschutzpartei Heike Dinsel 033397/64455
Hamburg, Germany Tierschutzpartei / Landesverband Hamburg Tina Stenz 040 524 45 44
Stockholm, Sweden Animal Rights Sweden Sofia Leander 08-55591405
Bogotá, Colombia ADA (e-mail) Mauricio Caballero, Manuel Lancheros 3103064072 (Mauricio), 3003640452 (Manuel)
London, UK CAFT Brian Neill 07899 775493
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK Advocates for Animals Joanne Sim 0131 225 6039
Dublin, Ireland CAFT Ireland Laura Broxson 086 8729-444
Ireland (countrywide action ) ARAN John Carmody 087 6275-579
Toronto, ON, Canada Canadians Against Dog and Cat Fur Ariel Lang 416-686-0243
Vancouver, BC, Canada Canadians Against Dog and Cat Fur Le Vanle e-mail
Kelowna, BC, Canada (Feb. 11) TRACS Sinikka Crosland 250-768-4803
Hamilton, New Zealand H.A.R.D Seregay Bresci e-mail
Milan, Italy OIPA Paola Ghidotti email
Lisbon, Portugal Animal Miguel Moutinho 96 235 81 83
Madrid, Spain AnimaNaturalis Internacional Francisco Vásquez Neira (+34) 60 56 10 851
Barcelona, Spain AnimaNaturalis Internacional Núria Querol i Viñas (+34) 62 99 78 625
Paris, France Fourrure-Torture Jean-Luc Segapeli 06 76 39 79 84
Nice, France Fourrure-Torture Jean-Luc Segapeli 06 76 39 79 84
Riga, Latvia Dzivnieku draugs Eugenia Sundeeva 371-7500491
Bangkok, Thailand website Nuntanit Bumrungsap 09 699-1881
Zagreb, Croatia Udruga Život Davorko Feil 031-752-300
Zagreb, Croatia Oslobođenje Životinja Martina Staničić 098-16-39-420
Tasmania, Australia Against Animal Cruelty Tasmania Liz Hardy 0409564067
Belgrade, Serbia website JeZa - Jelena Zaric 064-11-88-203
Mexico City, Mexico SOS Liberacion Animal Esperanza Meneses Lara, Alejandra Vanessa Palma 044-55-1705-0467 (Esperanza)044-55-2295-1274 (Alejandra)
Caracas, Venezuela website Bianca Castillo 0414. 106.57.68
São Paulo, Brazil Pelo fim do Holocausto Animal / AILA Fabio Paiva 55-11-6161.8984
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Pelo fim do Holocausto Animal Fabio Paiva 55-11-6161.8984
Porto Alegre, Brazil Sociedade Vegetariana Brasileira de Porto Alegre Silvana Sita (51) 96015040
Moscow, Russia (Feb. 12) Alliance for Animal Rights Semen Simonov e-mail
St. Petersburg, Russia Alliance for Animal Rights Semen Simonov e-mail
Helsinki, Finland
mika@oikeuttaelaimile.net Lima,Peru
gevha@animalprotector.com UK, Cornwall: Mary Alice:
http://justnicephotos.homestead.com/CVFA.html The International Organization for Animal Protection--NGO affiliated to the UN Department of Public Information:
http://clik.to/oipa_cornwall 
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