Once again, defying international opposition and all standards of human decency, the Canadian government is sanctioning the mass killing of helpless baby harp seals.

In the weeks ahead, hundreds of thousands of these animals will be beaten and stabbed with sharp hooks and sometimes even skinned alive—all so that someone can put on a coat, a collar, or cuffs made with real baby-seal fur.

PETA and caring people like you are fighting relentlessly to protect these animals. We must pressure the Canadian government to listen to the pleas of millions of people around the world who want this annual slaughter to stop. This year, seals need your help in raising an international outcry to help end the bloody hunt. Please take two important actions right now:

1. Sign PETA’s worldwide petition to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper demanding a permanent end to the annual slaughter of seals.

2. Make an online donation to PETA to help us win the global fight to stop the abuse of seals and other animals for their fur. Your generous gift will help us take on the fur industry—designers, retailers, and consumers—as only PETA can.

Even in an industry known for its cruelty, Canada’s annual seal hunt—the largest slaughter of marine animals on the planet—stands alone for its violence and utter lack of compassion or mercy.

Hundreds of thousands of harp seals will be killed in a matter of weeks. Most of them will be less than 3 months old, and many will still be in their first weeks of life. The animals are so young and innocent that they will lie on the ice as their attackers approach. Even if they know that they should flee, their motor skills aren’t yet developed enough to do so. They have no chance of escaping to the safety of the water.

The carnage begins as the seals have their heads bashed in with clubs. Still conscious, they will be dragged across the ice with boat hooks. Then these sensitive, intelligent animals will be skinned, sometimes while they are still alive. The sealers will take their fur but leave the seals’ bodies on the ice to rot.

Someday soon, Canada will look back on its seal hunt with shame. But until that day comes, it is up to caring people like you and me to come to the defense of these gentle animals.

By signing the petition and making a generous donation online right now, you can help us bring international condemnation to the Canadian prime minister’s doorstep—a critical step in ending these atrocities.

Thank you, carmen, for your unwavering commitment to these animals.

Very truly yours,


Ingrid E. Newkirk
President