Please help Canadian seals potentially killed for study: sample letter

BACKGROUND

The Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans has recently begun a study that could result in the killing of 70,000 grey seals off Canada’s East Coast.

The Fisheries Minister is pushing federal scientists to justify the slaughter of seals through contrived studies and one-sided hearings for political reasons. He has decided to ignore factors such as the impact of uncontrolled foreign overfishing in the waters off our coast and the total lack of scientific proof that seals are affecting the cod’s recovery.

The committee is considering an irresponsible cull that could, in my view, have serious negative impact on the Atlantic ecosystem and the long term health of many species, including cod. This slaughter would also result in untold costs to taxpayers and to Canada’s international reputation.

I have called on the committee to do due diligence and gather scientific evidence from all sides of this issue, not simply the studies that fit in with the unjustifiable goal of killing 70,000 seals. I urge you to write to the committee and its members who can be contacted through the Committee website http://senate-senat.ca/pofo-e.asp.

The government needs to know how Canadians and people around the world feel about this indefensible slaughter.

Sincerely,

Hon. Senator Mac Harb


WHOM  TO CONTACT

Email Block | Standing Committee of Fisheries and Oceans

mannif@sen.parl.gc.ca
losier@sen.parl.gc.ca
olived@sen.parl.gc.ca
poyv@sen.parl.gc.ca
hublee@sen.parl.gc.ca
smithc@sen.parl.gc.ca
patted@sen.parl.gc.ca
rainen@sen.parl.gc.ca
cochre@sen.parl.gc.ca
poirir@sen.parl.gc.ca
wattc@sen.parl.gc.ca
lebrem@sen.parl.gc.ca
carigc@sen.parl.gc.ca
cowanj@sen.parl.gc.ca
tardic@sen.parl.gc.ca
gail.shea@parl.gc.ca
pofo@sen.parl.gc.ca
info@parl.gc.ca

Postal 

Sending Mail to a Senator

Mail may be sent postage-free from Canada to any senator at the following address:

Name of senator
The Senate of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1A 0A4

Sending Mail to a Member of Parliament

Mail may be sent postage-free from Canada to any Member at the following address:

Name of Member of Parliament
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1A 0A6

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Senator,

I write to you today in hopes that you will join an ever-increasing number of countries and people who have voiced condemnation of the Canadian proposal to massacre 70,000 grey seals off the Canadian coast by issuing a declaration denouncing the hunt.

It is almost impossible to consider the hunt and not be aware of the brutality inherent in it, with methods of killing including decapitation and clubbing. Like humans, seals are sentient beings, capable of thought, emotion, pain, and suffering, and I ask you to acknowledge this important condition that we share. Having the capacity to empathize, humans are obligated to consider our sentient friends and prevent, not cause, brutality. Nevertheless despite the overwhelming evidence that contradicts any politically-induced justification for the hunt, Canada continues its massacre despite evidence establishing over-fishing as the result of lower cod numbers; this hunt would also be indefensibly costly, with tax-payers paying the burden. Indeed, the seal hunt is not justified economically, traditionally, ecologically, or scientifically, and Canada’s blatant disregard of its most vulnerable group of beings is unforgivable; furthermore, the majority of Canadian citizens oppose any hunt, and I find it disturbing that Canadian officials have ignored their pleas as well.

I find no joy in the fact that many hold negative feelings of Canada, and adjectives such as brutal, bloody, horrific, evil, greedy, and shameful have tainted Canada’s image. It would be impossible to separate the damaging depiction of Canada from the principles of collaboration and goodwill, but a denouncement of the seal hunt will clarify your position and support an ideal of empathy. Please consider my words and join with the world in condemning Canada’s potential seal hunt of 70,000 grey seals.

I understand your time is limited, and I want to thank you for your attention and consideration.

NAME

VIDEO FOOTAGE | CANADA’S SHAME

Vodpod videos no longer available.

SEE MORE:

• Cruelty-Free
• What Can I Do?
• Video Library

how stupid do you think
we are there, buddy
as you sanction murder
in the name of a “study”
do you fool yourself
do you really believe
as we sit, the rest
of the world
and watch you
self-deceive:(

Karen Lyons Kalmenson