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Reporting Cities: AUSTRALIA Byron Bay, NSW - Menkit Prince
Unfortunately we didn't have enough participants to warrant the media to interview me. At least 17 Canadians came up asking what was going on. They had no idea the hunt was happening. Most of them signed and were very sad and ashamed. I am sure they will go back home and do something. One self-confessed hunter from a family of hunters signed saying how disgusted he was at the unnecessary cruelty. We collected 65 signatures in 2 days and a total of 400 so far in 3 other petition drive and tabling events. We gave out all the 200 fliers you so kindly mailed plus another 200 I printed up from my computer. Paul Watson was on Australian radio 3 times that week. (I was too - plus another interview tomorrow morning). I made good connections with caring people who want to continue working to make the boycott against all Canadian goods a success. AUSTRIA
We talked to Mag. Ms. Fritscher (public relations) and confronted her with the fact that in Austria it is charged if you club a mammal - not only by laws to protect animals, it would also violate hunting rules. She admitted she could not imagine 15 000 men rushing into the countryside here in Austria to brutally with hakapiks club 330 000 young, helpless mammals, leave them terribly wounded to die or skin them alive! - when just this happens every year in Canada - allowed and subsidized by the Canadian government!
On March 15, 2005 about 20 - 30 people met at Opernring 1 at 11.00. The protesters were shocked when they saw the cruel pictures on the signs. We marched through the city of Vienna, handed out flyers and the new Sea Shepherd brochures, talked to people and even busy passersby had their eyes focused on the bloody atrocity of the horrific images. At the Canadian embassy this time I was asked to prove my identity. The clerk disappeared for a while with my driving licence before we could meet Ms. Coutts (Counsellor).
Representatives of several Austrian animal welfare organisations (VGT, Wiener Tierschutzverein, Canis, Österreichischer Tierschutzverein, …) who represent hundreds of thousands of members then handed their officially signed petitions to the Canadian embassy. Ms. Coutts promised to pass them on to the Prime Minister. She stated that the DFO has officers to control the hunt and 379 violations
had been detected between 1999 - 2004. I told her that the veterinary report in
the US Resolution states that up to 42% of the seal babies are skinned alive - what
was never charged! BELGIUM In Brussels, Belgium, Bite Back and Sea Shepherd joined forces to protest
against the horrible slaughter of baby seals. We protested from 2 till 3.30 p.m.
under the first spring sunshine we had this year.
CANADA This event was a coordinated effort between Sea Shepherd, the Vancouver Humane Society
and Liberation BC/Vegan Voices. 60 activists gathered in front of
and inside the Canadian government office tower housing the Pacific HQ of the Department
of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). We marched, chanted, handed out
brochures, and gathered signitures on the petition. Glynis (SSCS Vancouver) played
the Sea Shepherd PSA and recent video footage of the seal hunt (courtesy
of IFAW) throughout the duration of the demo. There was significant local and some
national media coverage of the event. Media received kits and copies of
the Sea Shepherd PSA. Ashley Fruno (Liberation BC/Vegan Voices) & Glynis shared
the role of media spokespersons.
CROATIA Zagreb - Bernard Vjeran Franolic This is how Croatia raised its voice for the harp seals today!
HUNGARY Budapest - Veronika Kristof (Sea Shepherd Volunteer)
IRELAND
Thanks to everyone who supported ARAN's seal hunt demo last Tuesday
in Dublin. Between 12-2pm a crowd of almost 50 caring compassionate people
came along many long term supporters old and new. We also had some supporters who
are making a film of the seal hunt here in Ireland and
shot some of their film at the end of the demo - it was great, thanks to everyone
who supported this years event.
The demo was organised by Animalisti Italiani in supporting of the
International campaign of Sea Shepherd and HSUS against the seal slauther.
The demo was very well covered by the media and we had a great success. I've asked
to our friends in the Italian parliament, to help us in order to obtain the ban
of the import of the seal products in Italy. The Greens accepted our request and
they presented a motion to our Government asking the total ban of seal products.
We have a petition on our web site www.animalisti.it in support of the motion re
the total ban.
PERU Lima - Report 1: Fabiana Portal
My name is Fabiana Portal. I'm a member of ALCO and UPA (organizations in defense of animals in Perú). We were in front of embassy of Canada protesting. We carried posters, flyers, and fake seals painted with fake blood.
Lima - Report 2: Jose Enrique Escardó Steck Approximately 100 activists and individuals who where interested in the subject, manifested against one of the most disgusting things that the human being allows and a goverment sponsors, the killing of millons of seals, most of them babies, in Canada.
The activists, with placards that showed the absolute cruelty of
this hunting without sense, made a pacific long wait in front of the Embassy
of Canada in Peru. The world-wide call of the Humane Society of the United States
was delegated in Lima to AnimaNaturalis Peru, that summoned not only affiliated
activists, but other organizations, like ASPPA (Peruvian Association of Protection
to the Animals), representatives of the Federated Center of Students of the Catholic
University and people not affiliated to groups who knew about the hunting thanks
to the program of Cesar Hildebrandt, the most credible and serious Peruvian journalist,
who interviewed the President fo AnimaNaturalis Peru and showed 3 minutes of
footage that impressed and outraged thousands of people. Also a representative
of the national rock group Mater Natura was there, group that in all its concerts
promotes the Rights of the Animals and, in special, our very successful International
Campaign "Lima. Anti-bullfight City". For the animals,
POLAND Close to fifty people gathered on March 15 at the Canadian Embassy
in Warsaw to protest seal hunting. The association Empatia organized the
demonstration. Other organizations - Pracownia na Rzecz Wszystkich Istot (Workshop
for All Beings) and Viva!, among them, joined in. We had posters
and banners, and maple leaves coated in red paint symbolizing blood. We were pinning
the red leaves on to the white fabric. During the protest we read
aloud the information about seal hunting and shouted: Shame on Canada! Canadian Consul
was presented with a letter of protest sign by demonstration participants, photographs
and films of the hunts, and two reports: "Seals and Sealing in Canada 2005" (IFAW)
and "The Canadian Seal Hunt: No Management and No Plan" (Greenpeace). All
major newspapers, and some radio and television station give an account of the event.
We have prepared CDs with the photographs, films and reports especially for the journalists,
so all of them had the information. Two days before the protest we have launched
mass e-mail sending action. Thousands of people send mail protesting the seal hunting
to the Canadian Embassy. We also placed the link to IFAW petition on our web page. Click for newspaper clippings (in Polish) about the demonstration in Warsaw, Poland SPAIN
I report 114 people in Barcelona event. Also 3 TV channels, two local
TV and the national TV of Catalonia (TV3), which this morning has pre-covered the
event, as well as written media, some of UNITED STATES Burlington, Vermont - Scott Moran We had a protest planned for March 15th, however we got snowed out! Today we held our second, and what an amazing day. We received nothing but positive public feedback, and hundreds of signatures from Canada and all over the US. We were able to engage many people and prove that educated people are far more powerful as they address issues such as this. It was a bluebird day! Keep up the good fight!
Sisley Milroy sent me an e-mail asking if we (she and I) could pull something together at the last minute for the International Day of Protest for the Seals.
We went to work. I found out the date, picked a 2-hour
time slot during lunch and sent notices to everyone I could think of. Sisley
found someone to loan a few seal clubbing posters from another state. They were
sent 2 day! Sisley found someone to make us a banner in 2 days. We met to put
it together and went to order it together. I made home made posters from other
posters and from photos sent to me from Sea Shepherd. Sisley called the news
offices. We had people from Rocky Mountain Animal Defense (the organization we
belong to), PETA, Humane Society of the US, and Sea Shepherd join us the day
of the demo. Approximately 25 good, compassionate people in all. The CO weather
was beautiful. Some people were friendly to us and some weren't, as expected.
All in all, the event went well. Sadly, no media showed. We handed out over
200 pieces of literature in 2 hours. It was a good event. I hope we were
able to bring the seals closer to living a peaceful existence. I want to
thank everyone who help us put this event together and joined us for the
demo. Together, we will make the world better place, one person at a time.
Thank you!
The seal hunt demo in Detroit went well March 15th. Detroit
was in the unique position of being located on a busy border crossing with Canada.
We set up the demo at the entrance to the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, one of the two
busiest border crossings in the U.S., where we were visible to thousands of Canadian
commuters heading home. Also, CBC sent camera crews and the Windsor (Canada) Star
Newspaper sent a reporter.
Detroit - April 9th - Kelli of S.M.A.R.T. [Southeastern Michigan Animal Rights Team] On Saturday, April 9, Detroit held a second, large-scale demonstration in opposition to the seal slaughter. It was tremendously well attended; over 65 protesters came out in support of ending the massacre. We were again positioned on the Detroit/Canadian border, at the entrance to the tunnel that joins the two countries. People couldn't get anywhere near the tunnel without seeing us, traffic was plentiful and friendly, and the weather was beautiful. Another brilliant aspect of the day was that our Canadian neighbors held a demonstration consisting of approximately 25 concerned citizens at the very same time on their side of the tunnel. People traveling from one country to the other were bombarded from both sides. Our message was inescapable. It was magnificent, and a fantastic illustration of harmony. (I only wish we'd had an aerial photographer~)
Thank you again, Sea Shepherd, for sending us literature and encouragement. A sincere thank you, as well, to each and every individual who showed up and gave their support to this cause! It did not go unnoticed! On behalf of Sea Shepherd and the Seals, here's a big THANK YOU to all those that attended the protests on March 15 in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. Also want to thank everyone who's busy getting petitions signed at home/office and putting the pressure on the Canadian government in any way possible.
I joined the LA protest along with at least 70 like-minded activists on a beautiful California day. Sea Shepherd and several other groups (Harpseals.org, HSUS, IDA, PETA, USETA) were well represented on the four corners of 6th and Hope Street in front the high-rise building where the Canadian consulate is located. Together we made our voices heard, waived signs and banners, handed out thousands of info sheets, and collected over 700 signatures on the petition in just a few hours! Many pedestrians were shocked to learn about the hunt, many thinking it had ended long ago. At least three media outlets covered the event in LA including KPFK and KFWB radio. Associated Press sent a video crew. Ian Robichaud of Harpseals.org did an excellent job conveying our collective message to the media.
At the end of protest, Tim Midgley (SSCS International Director), Ian Robichaud, and myself met with a representatives of the LA Canadian Consulate outside the street lobby. In addition to our heartfelt reasons for the protest and boycott, we provided them copies of the petitions and a 30 minute dvd of the seal hunt so they could see the sheer horror themselves. Eric Pelletier (Consul for Political, Economic and Public Affairs) seemed very defensive of the hunt in his French-Canadian accent, and challenged us regarding the effectiveness of a boycott. So it's up to all of us - including your friends/family/co-workers - to prove the boycott's point: CANADA - STOP THE SEAL HUNT OR YOUR ECONOMY WILL SUFFER. Again, thank you to everyone in California who helped make this protests a success. Keep up the pressure on the Canadian government with the petitions, emails, and phone calls. And don't buy Canadian products, especially seafood, until the hunt is permanently shut down. Portland - Connie B. Durkee - In Defense of Animals I am writing to let you know about our extremely successful seal demo yesterday.
We met at Pioneer Square at noon. We had 15-20 people show up to help. We blanketed
2 whole blocks of downtown Portland with volunteers leafletting and holding posters. San Francisco - Alicia Moore (In Defense of Animals)
We had over 30 people holding signs, banners, chanting, and passing
out information in front of the Canadian consulate. In addition, we gathered over
200 petition signatures against the annual slaughter, and handed out 200 postcards
for passer-bys to send in to the Canadian embassy. We were received with interest
by most people walking by, many of whom said they were surprised the "hunt" was
still happening. We also met with a representative from the Canadian Consulate
who accepted a letter on behalf of IDA's 85,000 members calling for an immediate
and permanent end to this slaughter.
There were 37 people from Sea Shepherd, HSUS, and Northwest Animal Rights Network that showed up in front of the Canadian Embassy at 6th and Stewart. While that corner is not in the busiest part of the city, we had our share of foot traffic. We handed out a petition for people to sign and our new Sea Shepherd Seal Brochure, which has a great historical timeline of Paul Watson’s and Sea Shepherd’s 25+ years of opposing this horrific atrocity. We also had postcards with a picture of a baby harp seal on one side, which made it very attractive to the people passing by – they would soon discover the seal slaughter details printed on the back. HSUS and NARN handed out general info regarding the seal slaughter and a pamphlet about the Canadian Seafood Boycott.
Some people stopped to talk or take materials while others wouldn’t even make eye contact with us. One man walked towards us and then stopped quickly, trying to find a way across the busy street without having to go by us. I walked up to him, held out a card and said calmly, “Stop the seal slaughter.” He looked almost relieved when he took the card and said he wasn’t sure what was going to happen if he “walked the gauntlet.” “Are you a sealer?” I asked, to which he replied “No.” “Well,” I said with a smile “there’s no problem then! You can safely walk right on by.” KOMO 4 and KING 5 TV news teams showed up and interviewed various protesters. Three of Seattle’s finest also “attended the protest” and huddled inside a nearby coffee shop. They said that they didn’t expect any problems as NO ONE approved of the seal slaughter. Overall it was a very successful protest! I just returned from an hour-long protest in front of the Canadian Embassy in Washington. There was a large crowd of about 200 or so with lots of banners, signs, pictures, posters, and leaders with megaphones leading chanting and protest slogans. There were speakers and we got lots of publicity with many fronting Pennsylvania Avenue to show passing motorists/tourists the signs and pictures. Boycott Canada was the cry of the day. I view it as being VERY SUCCESSFUL! Click to go to Sea Shepherd's Home Page |
The weather was perfect even though it had been overcast and rainy all week. Since
there is no Canadian consulate/embassy anywhere within 500 miles, we chose the busiest
location in Byron Bay NSW which is an international tourist destination for people
all over the world. I talked with people from Canada, US, Israel, Italy, France, Switzerland,
Ecuador, England etc. We were in a park right on Main Beach adjacent to magnificent
Byron Bay and opposite a very busy pub.
Already on St Valentine's day Sea Shepherd and Canis presented the Canadian embassy a typical
Austrian gift: A "Sachertorte" (cake), a rose with crepe, a letter of protest and
the clear message "Stop Killing Seals!"
I’m sure the people inside the Canadian embassy heard us because we shouted
through a megaphone for an hour and a half. “We support Sea Shepherd!”, “Canada,
watch your back!”, “Canadian butchers!”, “Boycott Canada!”, “baby
killers!” ...
Today, on 15 March 2005, from 11:45 am to 1 pm a loud demo
against slaughter of the seals in Canada took place in front of Canadian Embassy in Zagreb,
Croatia.
humans, Stop
the slaughter of the seals, etc.
We held the rally on 16 March – because of the public holiday on 15 March – at
two locations: 2.30-3.30 pm outside the office of Air Canada in downtown. We started
our demonstration (6 people), distributed about 150 colorful leaflets in Hungarian.
The pedestrians were very sympathizing and interested, they took the leaflets from
us. We went on with our demonstration outside the Canadian Embassy between 4.30-5pm.
Unfortunately, the petition was not accepted by the colleagues of the embassy so
I put it in the post box with the Hungarian leaflet. In addition, the news program
reported on the protest but unfortunately the people from the media did not appear
at the demonstration. The Police were very helpful and fair to us again. We only
got positive feedback in arranging and organizing work.
ITALY
them national. We have been "kindly" received
by the 
Consul of Canada, Mr. Khawar Nasim, who has got the letter for the Prime
Minister, signed by the President of our Board, and handed by Nuria Querol. He
has delivered us a copy of the same letter the Government is widely distributing.
For us 114 is extraordinary, as today is a working day and working time.
