Oh Canada...How Could You?
Today, Canadian fishermen on the Atlantic coast set out on their annual ritual of killing hundreds of thousands of baby seals for their fur pelts. One of the world’s most beautiful nurseries—as vulnerable seal pups, just weeks old, emerge on the ice floes—will be stained red in the world’s largest commercial slaughter of marine mammals.
What’s worse, the Canadian government delayed granting permits for humane groups and journalists to be present on the ice bearing witness and reporting on the carnage. It was a cruelty cover-up, and effectively barred any observation on the opening day of the hunt. They don’t want the world to see the images with their own eyes—to know what’s happening behind the Ice Curtain.
Last summer, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution—led by the late Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.), and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.)—calling on the government of Canada to end its commercial seal hunt. A similar measure has been introduced in the Senate—by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.)—and now has 13 cosponsors.
It’s time for the Senate to join the House in condemning Canada’s cruelty. As the blood flows on the ice floes today, ask your Senators to speak out.
Michael Markarian is the president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization that lobbies for animal welfare legislation and works to elect humane-minded candidates to public office. In almost 15 years in the animal protection movement, Markarian has worked for the passage of countless state laws and federal statutes to protect animals, in addition to helping defeat some of the strongest anti-animal welfare politicians in the United States. 
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