Seal Campaign 2009

Communications

The Issues

Seal Campaign 2009

Various items from the 2009 Seal Campaign.

Thank you to all of you who came to our CATCA seal event on March 27th!

Special thanks to my seal colleagues Bruce, Earl, Lauchlan, Anthony, Rae, Nancy, Rod, Amanda, Marley, Owen, Leslie, Ann, Amy and all the others who came from as far as Victoria and Bowen Island to be with us on that day.

Thanks a lot to all of you who helped to set the gazebo, help in our CATCA informative table, to distribute panflets, who wore the seal masks and specially to all of you who took the day off to participate.

Thank you Nancy for the awesome seal masks, to Diana of Harpseals and Fireweed for the banners they sent us, Andy and Carl for the great seal t-shirts, Norisa who was so brave to come to help at the CATCA informative table just before giving birth, and Lori for driving us to town. To Joan, Sarah, Ellie, Melissa and others who told their volunters about our event. Special thanks to M.C. for all your great help and support during that event.

Check for our new webpage: http://catcahelpanimals.org/2009rallyvancouver.html to check pics and videos of our event last month.

Ericka
CATCA
www.catcahelpanimals.org

This is the last CATCA international campaign effort to add pressure to the few European Union countries against the total ban on the trade of seal products. The Final Vote day has been moved again, this time to the end of April or first days of May, 2009. So we have to act FAST!

Please, do contact the following people from these ministries and governments and kindly ask them to reconsider supporting the total ban on the trade of seal products at the European Union. Just please, stick to the facts mentioned below. Please, do not mention organizations, your feelings, anger and your frustration. This is our last chance to add pressure, so we have to be really careful and straight to the point in your e-mails. Be very polite and once more, just mention the facts from the sample letter below.

Remember: Any replies or questions you get, re-send them to me for our data and to reply to them OK? Please, send them to: catca.org@hotmail.com

I will include a sample letter below to make it easier for you to know what to tell them.

Thank you very much and please pass this to others worldwide. (The more the better!).

Our Canadian seals need you to act NOW!

Sample Letter to Bulgaria
(just change the name of the country when sending to other nations)

Dear Minister .

I am appalled to know that Bulgaria is against the proposal of a total ban of seal products at the European Union, when most of the EU countries are in favor.

During this commercial hunt, the sealers skin off the animals and throw the carcasses to the ocean or leave them on the ice. Such "use" of the resources can't be named "sustainable" in any case. Some Baltic and Scandinavian countries are against the ban because other reasons (such as their own seal hunting tradition or seal cull control).

The vast majority of countries and public in Europe and the rest of the developed world are against this biggest and senseless slaughter of marine mammals on the planet.

Every year in Canada about 300,000 baby seals mostly of the age of 12 days to 3 months old, are beaten, clubbed and shot for their fur. This is the largest slaughter of marine mammals worldwide. A shocking 42% of these baby seals are skinned alive. The Canadian government doesn't count the thousands of seal pups that get shot and try to escape to the sea, where they die. There has been in recent years a huge mortality in baby harp seals in Canada due to global warming and in spite of this, Canada refuses to even give a break in the hunting of the baby seals!

Due to the geographic conditions and extreme weather it is impossible to kill the baby seals in a humane way in Canada. Reports as far as 60 years ago from veterinarians and other experts on the field have proven that and the Canadian government continues allowing this atrocity to happen year after year just for politics.

This annual commercial seal hunt has absolute nothing to do with the aboriginal seal hunt in Canada. The aboriginals kill mostly ringed seals, they kill only the seals that they need for food and consume all the animal parts. This is a misconception that the official Canadian delegation has been spreading in the EU, trying to convince the governments that the aboriginals will suffer if the commercial seal hunt in Canada stops, when in reality, all the sealers (fishermen) from the commercial seal hunt are mostly Irish, Scottish and French Canadians, that only earn from a 0.5% to about a 2% - 5% from their annual income for killing the seals.

Canada just started the second bloodiest phase of the commercial annual seal massacre in what is called "the front" (the waters off New Foundland and Labrador).

Here is a statement from Rebecca Aldworth (director of the Humane Society International), while observing the seal hunt a couple of days ago:

"Despite Canada's assurances that this year the seal hunt will be humane, we filmed so much cruelty it is unbearable. Sealers were shooting at seals in open water, not bothering to retrieve the wounded animals." "So many pups were shot multiple times before the sealer approached and, realizing the seal was still conscious; beat the animals to death with wooden bats. Wounded seals were repeatedly allowed to slip beneath the water's surface, left to die slowly". We witnessed so many seals dying a horrible death, as sealers shot at the terrified babies, and then descended on the wounded, struggling animals with wooden bats."

People all over the world are wondering why Bulgaria is the only country which supports this cruelty without any own interest on it, voting against the EU ban on seal products. If Bulgaria votes against this ban, Bulgaria will be condemning millions of baby seals to be brutally killed in Canada and will be responsible of the harp seals stock collapse eventually.

I ask you to please reconsider your country's position regarding this important issue of worldwide importance, and support the total ban.

Best regards,

SEND THE LETTER TO:

Bulgaria:
Ministry of environment and waters: Minister - Dzhevdet Chakarov e-mail :mivanova@moew.government.bg
the secretary Atanas Kostadinov Deputy Minister of Environment and Water :kabinet502@moew.government.bg
Foreign Affairs Ministry: Director : Albena Vodenitcharova e-mail: iprd@mfa.government.bg
(These are the ones against the ban!)
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
To these two people, please, just ask them very politely to help us to convince the government of Bulgaria to vote for the total ban on the trade of seal products at the European Union.
National service for the nature protection /The agency under the ministry of environment/ - who are responsible for the biodiversity and especially in CITES: Krastyo Popov - kpopov@moew.government.bg and Valery Georgiev nnpsf@moew.government.bg

Denmark:
Prime Minister Lars LÃ¸kke Rasmussen, stm@stm.dk
Per Stig MÃ¸ller, Minister for Foreign Affairs, um@um.dk
http://www.denmark.dk/CMS.Web/Misc/TipAFriend.aspx?postingguid
Minister of the Environment Troels Lund Poulsen mim@mim.dk
http://www.denmark.dk/CMS.Web/Misc/TipAFriend.aspx?postingguid
Eva Kjer Hansen, Minister for Food, Agriculture & Fisheries fvm@fvm.dk
http://www.denmark.dk/CMS.Web/Misc/TipAFriend.aspx?postingguid

Finland:
President of the Republic Finland - Tarja Halonen Email of the President of the Republic: presidentti@tpk.fi
mail of the Office of the President of the Republic: kirjaamo@tpk.fi
Prime Minister's Office Matti Vanhanen, matti.vanhanen@vnk.fi
State Secretary Mr Risto Volanen risto.volanenn@vnk.fi
Secretary to the Prime Minister Ms Riitta Gustafsson riita.gustafsson@vnk.fi
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Alexander Stubb E-mail: UMI@formin.fi
Ms. Katariina Prepula Secretary to the Minister katariina.prepula@formin.fi
Senior Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs Tanjainen@formin.fi
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Ms Sirkka-Liisa Anttila kirjaamo.mmm@mmm.fi or sirkka-liisa.anttila@mmm.fi
State Secretary Mr Jouni Lind jouni.lind@mmm.fi
Special Adviser to the Minister Ms Minna-Mari Kaila minna-mari.kaila@mmm.fi
Department of Fisheries and Game Mr Pentti LÃ¤hteenoja, Director-General pentti.lÃ¤hteenoja@mmm.fi
Ministry of the Environment LehtomÃ¤ki Paula, paula.lehtomaki@ymparisto.fi
Secretary to the Minister Tamminen Kristina kristina.tamminen@ymparisto.fi

Estonia:
President Toomas Hendrik Ilves http://www.president.ee/en/mailbox/
Prime Minister Andrus Ansip: valitsus@rk.ee
The State Chancellery of th Rep.of Estonia riigikantselei@riigikantselei.ee
Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet vminfo@vm.ee
Minister of the Environment Jaanus Tamkivi min@envir.ee
All Min's. info: http://www.eesti.ee/eng/riik/asutused/ministeeriumid/

Lithuania: PRIME MINISTER of the REPUBLIC of LITHUANIA ANDRIUS KUBILIUS andrius.kubilius@lrvk.lt
premjeras@lrvk.lt
kanceliarija@lrvk.lt
Dalija Medeišienė dalija.medeišienė@lrvk.lt
Emilija Šakina emilija.Šakina@lrvk.lt
Department of the State and Diplomatic Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:lina.terra@lrvk.lt
Minister of Environment of Lithuania Gediminas Kazlauskas gediminas.kazlauskas@am.lt
Kristina Petkūnienė kristina.petkūnienė@am.lt, Ramūnas Kalvaitis ramūnas.kalvaitis@am.lt, Arvydas Dragūnas arvydas.dragūnas@am.lt
Chancillery: E-mail kanceliarija@lrvk.lt kanceliarija@aplinkuma.lt, Minister of Foreign Affairs VYGAUDAS UŠACKAS, urm@urm.lt, vygaudas.uŠackas@urm.lt, Vice-Minister Šarūnas Adomavičius, sarūnas.adomavičius@urm.lt Kęstutis Jankauskas, State Secretary of the Ministry kęstutis.jankauskas@urm.lt

Latvia:
President Valdis Zatlers chancery@president.lv
Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis vk@mk.gov.lv
info@li.lv
Minister of Foreign Affairs Māris Riekstiņš vk@mk.gov.lv , mfa.cha@mfa.gov.lv
Minister for Environment Raimonds Vējonis vk@mk.gov.lv
Head of the Chancery of the President Eduards Stiprais chancery@president.lv, eduards.stiprais@e-apollo.lv

PLEASE SUPPORT THE MAC HARB BILL!
We urge you to send an email to Mac Harb at harbsealbill@sen.parl.gc.ca expressing support for his bill to end the seal hunt. It would be helpful if people could mention in the subject or at the end which country they are from (so that his staff can keep track of where support is coming from) and how many people from your family or group are supporting this bill.

Support CATCA's lobbying activities in Europe! It is crucial that we keep lobbying now more than ever!!! CATCA is convincing NGO's to lobby within their governments, dealing with the decision makers of the Ministries of the European Union and with Members of the European Parliament and coordinating the ongoing international campaigns to achieve a TOTAL BAN on the trade of seal products at the European Union. This upcoming vote in around 3 weeks time, has the power to end the seal hunt in Canada in few years. So please, support our lobbying and the campaign at the European Union for our Canadian seals!

Help CATCA
You can help to keep us doing this high level personal and active lobbying!

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Ericka Ceballos is the proud Canadian Ambassador of World Animal Day. Click on the WAD logo above to check for the events that we will hold to celebrate the animals in Canada.

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Contact Info
Ericka
PO Box 16021
617 Belmont Street
New Westminster
British Columbia
V3M 6W6
Canada
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CATCA is a proud member of the Western Canada Anti Sealing Coalition.