Please Join Friends of Animals for a March 15th Rally to Stop the Canadian*

*Seal Slaughter--at the Door of the Canadian Consulate General in NYC*

The baby harp seals off Canada 's Eastern Coast are not safe from the
slaughter that's gone on for decades, and which is set to resume this
month. The violent spectacle of seals being clubbed, shot and skinned
for their skins will continue unless we use our voices to finally end
this massacre. *Real solutions are needed for the serious economic
and environmental issues facing Canada . Clubbing and shooting seals
does not address these problems.

Several Canadian Parliament members and Fisheries Minister Gail Shea
recently ate seal flesh in an organized media stunt to spite the
European Union's decision to ban certain seal products. Grow up, Canada
. Stop clinging to policies that degrade the environment and its
inhabitants, stop mocking the rest of the world, and stop smashing
seals' heads*

Please join Friends of Animals and In Defense of Animals for the
International Day of Action for Seals in Canada on March 15 at 12:30pm
in NYC. We'll be standing in solidarity with all of the protests
happening around the world for the seals on this day. We're taking our
outrage to the door of the Canadian Consulate General's office in
bustling Midtown Manhattan, for a spirited lunchtime demonstration with
posters and banners demanding an end to the slaughter. Your presence is
needed more than ever to save the seals.

We're closer than ever to finally ending the shameful history of Canada
's assault of seals, and Canadian Senator Mac Harb introduced a bill
last year that would accomplish this, but it has not yet been supported.
Worldwide pressure is needed to get this legislation passed.

If you cannot attend the rally, please contact the politicians below and
ask them to support the "Harb Bill" (S-207) to end the commercial seal
slaughter in Canada .

*What: Demonstration against seal slaughter in Canada
When: March 15, 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Where: Canadian Consulate General, 1251 Avenue of the America between
49th and 50th Streets, New York City -- Map & Directions.

*
*What You Can Do Right Now:*
Canada 's annual seal kill should not exist; it is violent and unjust.
Please direct opposition to killing seals to the Canadian government and
urge the politicians below the pass the "Harb Bill" (S-207), introduced
by Canadian Senator Mac Harb to end the commercial seal slaughter in
Canada, and be sure to cc Senator Mac Harb in any emailed letters to
politicians on this matter at: harbm@sen.parl.gc.ca

*Canadian Consulate General Daniel Sullivan*
1251 Avenue of the Americas
New York , NY 10020-1175
United States
Telephone: 1-212-596-1628
Facsimile: 1-212-596-1790
daniel.sullivan@international.gc.ca


*Prime Minister Stephen Harper*
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington St .
Ottawa , ON K1A 0A2 Canada
Facsimile: 1-613-941-6900 or 1-613-995-7858
E-mail address: pm@pm.gc.ca


*Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans*
House of Commons
441-S Centre Block
Ottawa , ON K1A 0A6 Canada Facsimile: 1-613-992-1974
E -mail address: Shea.G@parl.gc.ca



*Friends of Animals 777 Post Road Darien CT 06820
203-656-1522*

Facing backlash in Europe, Canada hunts for new seal market in China

Forget the Old World animal ethics of Europe. Canada is taking its
seal hunt where the money is - to China.

Despite all the hubbub about the European Union's sanctions on the
seal hunt, Europe is a relatively small market for Canadian seal
products. But China is a big buyer, with greater potential and none of
the uproar about animal rights that has made the seal industry a
pariah in the Western world.

--
full story:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/facing-backlash-in-europe-canada-hunts-for-new-seal-market-in-china/article1427946/

NL-Volunteers Needed for Seal Rehabilitation

There is an immediate need for individuals with a marine mammal background to help with feeding and nursing seals back to health at one of the world's leading seal sanctuaries located in the Netherlands. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who has worked with marine mammals and knows how to feed seals, to enhance their knowledge by volunteering at the sanctuary.






Seal Research and Rescue Center Lenie 't Hart in The Netherlands is overwhelmed with seals. Currently 150 indidividual seals are staying at the center. Practically all are Harbor Seals suffering from longworms, but the season for Grey baby seals is approaching rapidly and more seals are expected.

All seals at the center are eventually released but not until a period of 3-6 months of recuperation.
Feeding young seals is not easy. To minimize the stress for the animals and increase their chances of survival experience is needed.

The Seal sanctuary in the Netherlands will pay for your airfare to The Netherlands and provide room and board for anyone who qualifies and has experience feeding seals. All you need is proper travel documents and pocket money.
More information at: http://zeehondencreche.nl/home/stages_vrijwilligers_e.htm


If interested or if you know of anybody who might be interested.
pass on and/or contact me privately wdekok@yahoo.com

Scottish Marine Bill Report calls for changes to protect seals

Advocates for Animals have welcomed much of the Marine (Scotland) Bill report1 released today by the Scottish Parliament Rural Affairs Committee, which proposes improvements to protect Scotland’s seals.

The Stage 1 Report addresses a number of the concerns raised by Advocates for Animals and other seal welfare and conservation organisations about the suffering of seals being shot in Scotland. The report recommends:

• Including an offence of intentionally or recklessly harassing seals.
• Licences to kill or take a seal should only be issued if there is “no satisfactory alternative”.
• When a licence is issued to shoot seals, its conditions should include: the skill of the marksman, the type of firearm used, and the marksman’s proximity to the target.
• Fish farms that are not fitted with anti-predator nets but wish to shoot seals should explain on their licence applications why they do not have nets fitted.
• All licensees should report the taking or killing of seals at least quarterly.

Although many of Advocates for Animals’ recommendations have been accepted, the report does not comment on the possibility of banning the killing of seals during their breeding seasons.

Advocates for Animals’ Policy Director, Libby Anderson, said:

“The recommendations in the report reflect many of our aspirations for a more robust seal protection regime than was proposed in the draft Bill. Of course we would prefer to see no killing of seals in Scottish waters and there is still the crucial issue of killing during the breeding seasons that has not yet been addressed. Unless the Bill is amended, licences may still be granted to allow pregnant seals or those with dependent young to be shot – meaning that orphaned pups could be left to starve to death slowly around our coastline. We will be urging the Committee to support a number of amendments to give Scotland’s seals better protection from harm.”

Scottish Green MSP Robin Harper said:

"A prohibition on killing animals during close seasons is a fundamental animal welfare measure and is the case for most terrestrial mammals. At present, pregnant and nursing seals are being shot and dependent pups are starving to death or are being left at the mercy of the elements. It is imperative that we bring this unnecessary suffering to an end.

“Therefore, I will be lodging an amendment to the Marine Bill to ensure that licences to shoot seals are not granted during the breeding and moulting seasons of the grey seal or the common seal."

Scottish Labour MSP Elaine Murray, a member of the Committee, added:

"Scottish Labour would like to see greater protection for seals in the Marine Bill. The killing of any seal should be a last resort and only if all other methods of deterrence have failed, and applicants for a licence to kill seals must be able to demonstrate that all other possible non lethal methods have been tried unsuccessfully or would not work.

"We want the Bill to make it clear that a licence to kill will only be granted to people who can demonstrate a high level of marksmanship, using a suitable weapon and in sufficient proximity to the seal to avoid unnecessary suffering. We also believe that when a seal has been shot all incidents must be recorded and reported."
To read th rest visit:http://www.advocatesforanimals.org/content/view/629/696

BAN THE SHOOTING OF SEALS BY FISH FARMERS-ACTION ALERT!

As many as 5,000 seals are shot in Scotland every year. The reason? Because of consumer’s desire for cheap fish – specifically salmon. Around 1 million meals containing salmon are eaten in Britain each year, and it is this artificial trade in intensively farmed fish which is driving the bloodshed. Seals are killed when they pose a threat to the profits of fisheries by eating eat fish destined for supermarkets. Yet another example of wild animals suffering because of the greed of the livestock industry.
In the past, Viva! has supported calls by The Seal Protection Action Group to ban this practice. Recently, Viva! celebrity supporter Chrissie Hynde added her backing in The Sunday Times. She said: “The livestock industry seems to have immunity to decimate our rich, natural wildlife – not to mention causing untold suffering through intensive farming methods. Now seals are, quite literally, in the firing line to protect the Scottish salmon industry. Here’s a novel idea: why don’t we put Britain’s wildlife in front of profits for once?”
Please add your voice to help end the wholesale slaughter of Scottish seals by using our pre-prepared email to Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland:
Email: scottish.ministers@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
“Dear First Minister,
I am writing to you to urge you to ban the shooting of seals by fish farmers in Scotland.
I was shocked to discover that hundreds of seals are killed every year in Scottish waters; even more so that the figure could be as high as 5,000. It is outrageous that indigenous animals are being sacrificed to protect wholly unnatural fishing practices.
Common seal numbers have dramatically declined by a third in Britain over the past seven years. Whilst ecological changes and a shortage of wild fish generally are partly behind this drop, the shooting of seals by fish farmers is also likely another major contributor. Not only are seals being hammered by unsustainable fishing policies, they are now victims of lethal protectionism by the industry.
Most people were horrified by the killing of seals for their fur in Canada – so much so that a ban on importing seal products has been rightly implemented across the EU. It is therefore sadly ironic that so many seals are also losing their lives in British waters.
Please take immediate steps towards banning this cruel and bloody practice now.
Yours faithfully”


Related Pages:
Order an ‘end of the line’ door-dropper pack
End of the Line guide
Order a free go veggie pack
From the Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation:Go Fish-Free
Read the VVF’s report on fish [PDF]
Read the VVF FactsheetViva! Guides:

Your Health In Your Hands
Planet On A Plate Veggie Health for Kids -->
Viva! Vegetarians International Voice for Animals8 York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol BS2 8QH, UKT: 0117 944 1000 F: 0117 924 4646 E: info@viva.org.uk

Take Action to Protect Scotland's Seal!

Scotland is a global guardian of seals – 40% of the world’s grey seals are found in Scottish waters. But despite this privilege these magnificent creatures receive scant legal protection from the Scottish Government. Scotland permits the barbaric practice of shooting seals (even during the breeding season). These seals may be pregnant or have recently given birth to dependent pups. Helpless, orphaned pups are left to slowly die of starvation, suffering a lingering death over a number of weeks.
That one single bullet has the potential to end two lives. One bullet. Two lives.
However you and I can make a difference NOW. Please give a donation to the LOOK OUT for SEALS campaign and the ongoing work of Advocates for Animals. The Scottish Government is about to introduce a Marine Bill for Scotland and we want to ensure greater protection for seals is included in this Bill. A gift from you will ensure Advocates for Animals can run a public awareness and education campaign highlighting the plight of Scotland’s seals and secure time with MSPs and key decision-makers to ensure they hear the voices of our supporters. With your support, I know we can make a difference in engendering respect and compassion towards animals and ending this senseless slaughter on Scottish shores.

Students support seals via series of protests

In an attempt to change the face of activism at the La Jolla
Children’s Pool, students began a series of protests at the beginning
of the summer, including a gathering at the courthouse steps and then
at the governor’s office.

Now the students said they will continue their battle for a La Jolla
seal colony, taking their fight to the California Department of Fish
and Game in an attempt to alter the Children’s Pool’s designation.

“We recently became tax-paying citizens. We’re trying to get as many
people as possible, but right now we’ve got a core group of ten
people,” said 19-year-old Summer Dunsmore. “We have been focusing on
some of the issues around the seals. That’s how it began, a reaction
to that sort of news… We were dealing with citizens’ rights - what we
want the city to support and not support, and animal rights.”

--
full story:
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-08-07/news/environment/students-support-seals-via-series-of-protests

EU Seal Ban Seen as Threat to Newfoundland Villages

TORONTO (Reuters) - Hundreds of villages in Atlantic Canada that
depend on seal hunting for much of their livelihood are already
feeling a sharp economic pinch from a European ban on seal products
that went into effect last month.

For more than 20 years Eldred Woodford has taken part in the annual
seal "harvest" on the ice floes along the coast of Newfoundland and
Labrador, home to more than 80 percent of the country's sealing
industry. But the hunt now brings in much less money than it did only
a few years ago, he says.

To be sure, there are still plenty of seals to hunt, but they are
worth a lot less

--
full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/08/07/world/international-uk-sealers.html

BABY SEALS STABBED WHILE NURSING!! Video link

The second-largest slaughter of marine mammals in the world has begun just off the southern coast of Africa in Namibia.

During what's been described as "the cruelest seal 'hunt' on the planet," The Cape fur seals are rounded up on Namibian beaches and slaughtered over a period of 20 weeks, The pups are still nursing when they are clubbed or stabbed to death.

The annual commercial seal harvesting season in Namibia officially began on July 1 with a quota of 85 000 pups due to be clubbed to death and 6 000 bulls to be shot on the country's coast.

Cape Fur seals are killed mostly for their fur. Adult males are also killed for their penises, which are exported to Asia to be used as aphrodisiacs.

Warning video footage is VERY GRAPHIC!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOzp_uh-3ls

EU Approves ban on seal products

Seal hunters drag a dead seal to their boat in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in this March 31, 2008 file photo. The European Union has endorsed a regulation to ban the trade of all seal products within the EU.
Photograph by: File, CNS
The European Union has endorsed a regulation to ban the trade of all seal products within the EU.

Despite a last-minute plea from the Canadian government, the Council of the European Union approved the ban Monday.

Read more .....

http://www.canada.com/news/approves+seal+products/1832856/story.html

ANTI-FUR SOCIETY-SEND YOUR E-MAILS TO PROTEST NAMIBIAN SEAL SLAUGHTER!

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO SEND AN EMAIL TO SEAL KILLER/DEALER:
http://antifursocietyinternational.org/n_seals/seals.html


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090724/sc_afp/turkeynamibiaenvironmentseals
Namibia seal slaughter goes ahead after failed deal

AFP/File - Seals are seen at Cape Cross seal reserve, some 430 kms west of Windhoek in 2000. An Australian-based . Fri Jul 24, 12:07 pm ET
ISTANBUL (AFP) - An Australian-based fur company has begun culling baby seals in Namibia after animal rights activists failed to pay on time the millions of dollars they pledged to buy the company out, the owner said Friday.

"Nothing came from these associations and we have begun the annual slaughter," Hatem Yavuz -- who has offices both in Sydney and Istanbul in his native Turkey -- told AFP.

Earlier this month, animal rights activists announced that they had launched a campaign to raise 14.2 million US dollars (9.9 million euros) to buy out Yavuz's company which buys the pelts.

Yavuz said that he had been ready to go along with the offer -- made by several associations, including Seal Alert South Africa and Humane Society International -- but said he now felt they had been dishonest.

"I told them 'You want to buy me out, buy me out'. Today, there is nothing on the table. They kept the money in their pocket," he said. The culling began "about a week ago," after a two-week delay, Yavuz added.

The annual commercial seal harvesting season in Namibia officially began on July 1 with a quota of 85,000 pups due to be clubbed to death and 6000 bulls to be shot on the country's coast.

In May this year, the European Union banned imports and exports of all seal products in their 27 member states, including transporting these products through the EU to other parts of the world.




Namibia : Seal Cull NOT Started, Hang-in There Baby Seals, Help Coming
News24 reports amongst 70 other media publications, that the, "Namibian seal hunt will go on ".

The National newspaper reported more in depth, "$14 million deal to end seal cull ".

It is the end of 6th Day in Africa, and still the seal cull has not started. No seal pups have been killed.

Namibian govt officials can tell the media what they like, but govt does not do the baby seal pup clubbing, business does, and the business of ending the seal cull, has not been concluded yet. Business will decide whether the seal cull starts or ends, not govt fisheries officials.

The Seal 'business' in Namibia is dead. World economic slump, bans in the US and EU, poor demand for luxury fur fashion goods, no fur buyers, surplus of unsold seal skins, a declining seal population - and a sealing industry that wants to sell-out for $14 million. Something the Namibian govt must now come to terms with, and now look at alternative economic solutions.

Clubbing cruelly these seal pups is senseless and idiotic, as Namibia's last fur buyer, still has 20 000 skins from the 23 000 he bought in 2008, and cannot even sell these, and has placed no orders for 2009.

Whilst Seal Alert-SA bangs on the back-door to end the cull and continues its efforts to publicly raise $14 million US dollars to buyout the industry, it has now asked the World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the Humane Society International (HSI) to politely knock on the front-door of the Namibian Govt, and make it an offer nobody can refuse.

Since Namibia became independent in 1990, and revived the seal culling industry, issuing the rights and quotas to two sealing concession holders to club 930 000 seal pups cruelly to death. The sealing industry has cost govt lost revenue. Killing only 610 000 seal pups of their quota. Seal harvesting have only managed to fill 60 percent of their annual quota since 1990, causing govt to loose the 40 percent revenue it gets from each pup killed.

In 2008, govt lost even more, with seal harvesting yielding only 23 000 pups on an 85 000 pup quota.

Seal Alert-SA asks WSPA and HSI whom was at my meeting with the Prime Minister and Ministry of Fisheries in 2007, to come forward and immediately offer the Namibian government a deal, that it cannot legally refuse.

The front-door deal is. Offer to take over the sealing rights and annual quotas for this seal resource until rights end in 2019. Paying govt upfront for the full levies on each seal in the quota that govt derives its revenue from. Legislated at N$2 Namibian dollars (.25 US cents) a seal pup and N$6 Namibian dollars (.75 US cents) per bull for the full quota.

This would amount to N$170 000 Namibian dollars for the 85 000 pups and N$36 000 Namibian dollars for the 6000 bulls each season. These annual quota levies which amounts to $25 000 USD dollars per year, to be guaranteed until Sealing Rights end in 2019. In addition, as govt has repeatedly stated, that the cull is a necessity under the constitution as it creates jobs for the unskilled and unemployed 97 workers in the industry. To offer to re-train, re-skill and offer these seal-clubbers full time employment in their new position, year round as "Seal Protectors and Seal Colony Monitors", whose jobs would be to protect the seal colonies from disturbance from the sealing industry and increasing tourism. Whose jobs costing N$ 2 million Namibian dollars ($230 000 US dollars) a year, to be equally guarantied for ten years, until 2019.

Seal Alert-SA suggests WSPA offers the govt to put $2 million US dollars in a trust to guarantee govt levies on quota and the cover workers salaries for 10 years, until 2019, and match any and all benefits that the sealing industry offers its workers, if any. Seal Alert then through its supporters will assist WSPA and HSI to fund the annual levies and 'seal protectors' salaries, totaling $230 000 US dollars through online pledges and donations.

Its a $260 000 US dollars a year deal until 2019, which a surety of $2 million dollars sitting in a Namibian npo trust.

Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula shoved the Namibian Constitution Booklet repeatedly in my face, which he co-wrote, stating I must find a solution within the constitution. Well, PM this is it, "the constitution of Namibia allows for the sustainable utilization of the living natural resources (seals), slide 2, confirms your policy of either consumptive (culling) or non-consumptive" . The offer from either the back-door or front-door is in line with the constitution' s non-consumptive approach to seals. Nowhere does the constitution state govt must harvest or kill seals.

Can govt legally accept the 'front-door' offer ? Marine Resource Act of 2000, states, "The Minister whenever he is of the opinion that it is in the interest of the promotion, protection or utilization on a sustainable basis of a particular resource, at any time, suspend, cancel or ..... of such rights, quota or license".

Can Seal Alert-SA succeeded with the 'back-door' offer ? Marine Resources Act of 2000, states, "No right may be transferred to another person except with the approval of the Minister, but such approval may only be granted if the quota connected with the right is also transferred to the same person".

If the Namibian Sealing Industry cannot deliver on their offer of $14 million buyout to end sealing with the Minister's consent, I will have to look at extortion and attempted fraud charges.

Namibian sealing industry has sealing rights until 2019 to kill a million seal pups, their offer to Seal Alert is 14 Million US dollars in a buyout..

This would be in line with the policy of the department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism sign-board at the entrance to the Cape Cross Sealing colony, where it urges, "people to help protect the seal colony".

Fisheries officials comments that clubbing nursing seal pups is a necessity to manage the seal population to protect fisheries is non-nonsensical and once again idiotic. As the cull exempts breeding cows and all ages of fish eating seals, as no market exists for its skins or products. Equally, South Africa has proven nature more than effectively manages the seal population, which has seen no increase in its seal population after stopping its commercial cull in 1990.

Pups washing off rocks and drowning, jackals predation on mainland colonies, and shark predation at sea and around island seal colonies, together with several mass die-off incidents since 1994, is all nature's way of controlling the population without the need for human intervention.

As an already UN listed endangered species since 1977, with 23 former island colonies extinct. Govt should take the offer to protect and not club.

The non-consumptive solution.

Seal Alert urges all supporters to keep sending in pledges, and no donations please, this fight is a long way from being over.

For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
27-21-790 8774
http://sealalertsa.wordpress.com/

Governor Schwarzenegger signs our seal bill!

Rally tomorrow to uphold the new law!
Thank you to all who contacted Governor Schwarzenegger- -your efforts paid off! After Judge Yuri Hoffman gave San Diego 72 hours to chase away the La Jolla seals on Monday, the governor signed our bill to save them! However, the city must go back to Judge Hoffman tomorrow to ask him to reverse his order now that the law has changed.
We will be holding a rally at the courthouse followed by either a victory celebration or a protest at the beach if Judge Hoffman orders the city to disperse the seals anyway!
When: 8am, Thurs. July 23, 2009
Where: San Diego Superior Court, 330 W. Broadway St., San Diego, CA 92101
The hearing will be in Dept. 60 at 8:30am and is open to the public.
After the hearing, we will head to Casa Beach (aka the Children's Pool) 850 Coast Blvd., La Jolla, CA 92037, for either a victory celebration or a protest if the city begins trying to disperse the seals per Judge Hoffman's orders!
Monday's story was covered in the AP, LA Times, San Diego Union Tribune, and numerous other publications. The UT also did a great editorial.
Can't make the rally but want to stay infomed? Follow our Sealwatch campaign coordinator Dorota Valli and our attorney Bryan Pease on Twitter! Governor Schwarzenegger is now following both and tweeted that he signed our bill!
2) Join us: Bi-coastal foie gras protests!
Join APRL and IDA for protests in San Diego and NYC against this cruel delicacy that is becoming increasingly unavailable due to the efforts of dedicated volunteers like you!
NYC
When: Sunday, July 26, 2009, 7-9pm
Where: Momofuku Noodle Bar, 171 1st Ave. (btw 10th & 11th) NYC 10003
San Diego
When: Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009, 7-8pm
Where: Mille Fleurs, 6009 Paseo Delicias, Rancho Santa Fe 92091
FOLLOWED BY Delicias Restaurant from 8-9pm, 6106 Paseo Delicias
For more info on this campaign see http://m1e.net/c?100352189-Ovn./GnrMEyf2%404448915-WIzV08tAxSHCo.
3) Vote for APRL in the Veggie Awards!
APRL has been racking up victories for animals--from saving the La Jolla seals to banning foie gras to distributing tens of thousands of flyers about adopting a cruelty-free vegan diet! Please vote for APRL as your favorite nonprofit organization in the annual VegNews Veggie Awards!
4) Join us at Comic-con!
Join us for a feed-out of delicious vegan food at Comic-Con--the massive comicbook convention in San Diego. We will be handing out thousands of pro-veg flyers and free vegan food samples for people to try! This is a positive and rewarding way to show people that adopting a cruelty-free lifestyle can be quite tasty! We will be meeting at the Convention Center Trolley Stop on Saturday and Sunday, July 25th and 26th from 10am to 6pm. Email us to sign up for a shift!
As always, more information is available on our calendar at http://m1e.net/c?100352189-CQKy6yTMugdf2%404448916-T/UF1y2p44kPQ.

Namibian seal update.Video!

Click to see the video and read the story.
http://www.theecolo gist.co.uk/ News/news_ round_up/ 289479/ecologist _film_unit_ journalist_ beaten_by_ seal_hunters. html

The 2 journalists were arrested and convicted in Namibia
http://www.google. com/hostednews/ ap/article/ ALeqM5iaYt1kIILq CgZITVqvURQsBDix jQD99GAH1O2

------------ --------- --------- ------





Hatem Yavuz, a leading buyer of wildlife skins has stated he would love to acquire African penguin skins. As the skins make the best fur jackets. Although Namibian govt lists the African penguin as a marine resource and is a consumer of commercial fish. Shares the same UN-CITES appendix II endangered species rating as the Cape fur seal. The Namibian govt has declared Penguins, most seabirds, 36 species of marine mammals (seals, dolphins and whales) and great white sharks - protected species.

Francois Hugo of Seal Alert-SA asks the Namibian govt what it needs to declare the Cape fur seals a protected species and to stop harvesting or culling ?

Over the past month over 400 media publications around the world have published negative reports on Namibia's seal cull. Many more on websites, blogs, chat rooms and twitter. This cannot be good in times of a global recession or for Namibia's tourism. The world wants the Namibian seal cull to end. Seal product imports banned in the US since 1972, South Africa since 1990 and now in the EU in 2009. Listed by UN-CITES in 1977 and 1990 by Namibia as an Appendix II endangered species.( http://news. google.co. za/news?hl= en&q=namibia%20seal&rlz=1W1HPNN_ en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn ) .

A video of the seal pup clubbing has been smuggled out of Namibia.

Francois Hugo of Seal Alert-SA the driving force for the past three years behind the anti-seal hunt campaign. Wants it ended. Hatem Yavuz the Australian fur buyer representative of the Namibian sealing industry wants to sell out.

Seal Alert-SA's asks the Namibian govt. What does govt need to officially end Namibia's seal cull and protect the species ?

If you are considering HSI or IFAW or WSPA's proposal. To independently monitor the seal pup clubbing cruelty. The Namibian govt will be making a grave mistake. It will simply exploit the situation. To appeal for more funding to end seal hunts. Exposing Namibia to international negative images and boycotts for decades to come.

If govt wants the seal-clubbers retrained, reskilled or re-employed. Give me your requirements.

If govt feels the seal cull is necessary to protect commercial fishing. Would you consider a moratorium to assess whether nature, jackals, sea-birds, drownings, starvation and collapsed fisheries - more than adequately 'manages' the seal population, and prevents high growth ?

Does the govt need funding for further conservation research?

Would govt accept a buy-out of the industry, and if accepted would govt then officially end the seal cull ?

Does govt need evidence of sealing irregularities in order to cancel or withdraw sealing rights ?

Does govt need the annual seal quota levies paid of N$2 a pup or N$6 a bull ?

Would govt accept re-populating seals to extinct former seal islands, and funding, to assess whether this would naturally manage the seal population ?

I await your response. Please give me the opportunity to meet your requirements to end the seal cull in Namibia.

Seal Alert-SA is prepared to accept any written proposal received from the Namibian govt to end the Cape fur seal cull.

For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
27-21-790 8774
sasealion@wam. co.za
http://sealalertsa. wordpress. com/

San Diego will seek lifting of seal removal order

A seal moves in to investigate activity along the rocks at the Children's Pool beach where seals have gathered for years in the La Jolla section of San Diego Monday, July 20, 2009. A judge has given the city 72 hours to begin chasing harbor seals out of the Children's Pool at La Jolla beach or face heavy daily fines, ruling firmly for humans in a decade-long battle over who should win exclusive use of the cove. San Diego County Superior Court Judge Yuri Hofmann ordered the city to comply with a 2005 order by another judge to restore the Children's Pool cove to its original condition. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi) By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The city of San Diego said Tuesday it will go to court to ask a state judge to lift an order requiring the immediate removal of a colony of federally protected harbor seals from a La Jolla cove.

The announcement by City Attorney Jan Goldsmith was the latest development in an emotional and yearslong battle over who should have exclusive use of the protected cove _ children or seals _ in the posh seaside neighborhood of La Jolla.

On Monday, a San Diego Superior Court judge ordered the city to begin chasing away the creatures from the cove, called the Children's Pool, by Thursday or face heavy fines in order to comply with a 2005 ruling in a lawsuit brought by a disgruntled swimmer.

The city said it would blast recordings of barking dogs to scare away the pesky pinnipeds at the cost of $688,000 a year. San Diego cannot use force because the seals are a federally protected marine species.

But just hours later, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that added a marine mammal park to the list of permissible uses for the Children's Pool _ giving the city a legal tool that could allow the seals to stay put.

Goldsmith said the city will go to court on the matter Thursday.

"It's like saying the seals in the zoo are a nuisance," he said.

Children's Pool was created by a sea wall built in 1931 through a gift by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps. The state, which owns the cove, subsequently placed the beach in a trust and granted the trust to the city of San Diego. The trust lists several possible public uses for it, including a children's beach and a park.

At a pro-seal rally Tuesday evening, a few dozen supporters lined the cove and shouted, "Take a stand, share the sand." Several dozen harbor seals lounged below them in the late afternoon sun.

Supporter Jennifer Rogge, 43, who lives nearby, said she was horrified by efforts to remove the seals.

"We should let them have it," she said. "They've been having their babies on this beach now for 15 years. It's a little late now to start shooing them off when there's generations of pups that don't know any other place to go."

Sukey Rice Ridgway, 65, who also lives nearby, said she remembered swimming in Children's Pool before the seals took over. She opposes their presence, even though she swam with the seals as a child.

"This was a beautiful pool and it was fabulous to swim down here and learn to snorkel and everything," she said. "It's unnatural now, it's man-made. It should not be for the seals."

Goldsmith said litigation over the cove's use has cost San Diego millions of dollars and could drag on for many more years unless the newly worded bill is allowed to take precedent.

Attorney Paul Kennerson, who represents the disgruntled swimmer, said Senate Bill 428 does not absolve the city of its responsibility to maintain the cove exclusively for the use of children.

Thursday's hearing is scheduled just 90 minutes before the city's deadline to begin chasing the seals away.

If the order is allowed to stand, Goldsmith said the city will be ready to begin removing the seals while simultaneously filing an emergency writ with California 4th District Court of Appeal.

Attorneys representing pro-seal groups have also filed emergency legal papers in both federal and state courts.


(Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The city of San Diego said Tuesday it will go to court to ask a state judge to lift an order requiring the immediate removal of a colony of federally protected harbor seals from a La Jolla cove.

The announcement by City Attorney Jan Goldsmith was the latest development in an emotional and yearslong battle over who should have exclusive use of the protected cove _ children or seals _ in the posh seaside neighborhood of La Jolla.

On Monday, a San Diego Superior Court judge ordered the city to begin chasing away the creatures from the cove, called the Children's Pool, by Thursday or face heavy fines in order to comply with a 2005 ruling in a lawsuit brought by a disgruntled swimmer.

The city said it would blast recordings of barking dogs to scare away the pesky pinnipeds at the cost of $688,000 a year. San Diego cannot use force because the seals are a federally protected marine species.

But just hours later, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that added a marine mammal park to the list of permissible uses for the Children's Pool _ giving the city a legal tool that could allow the seals to stay put.

Goldsmith said the city will go to court on the matter Thursday.

"It's like saying the seals in the zoo are a nuisance," he said.
Full story:

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=456&sid=1721779

Journalists Arrested ,Attacked with Clubs for Filming Seal Slaughter!

Journalists Arrested, Attacked with Clubs for Filming Seal Slaughter
Written by Bryan Nelson


Sealers wielding clubs for the purpose of killing seals attacked two journalists, one from the UK and one from South Africa, who were filming the brutal Namibian seal cull last week.
The journalists were then arrested and jailed at the Henties Bay Police Station in Namibia, and their camera and video was confiscated by authorities. The British and South Africa Embassies are demanding their immediate release.
The two journalists are Ben Smithers of South Africa and Jim Wickens of the United Kingdom. They were in the process of filming the controversial hunt in the Cape Cross Seal Reserve in Western Namibia when they were assaulted. The film was meant to be a collaborative project with Eco-Storm and Dutch NGO Bontvoordieren, showcasing the brutal and cruel practices that take place during the seal slaughter.
The seals are killed annually for their meat, oil and skins. Russia and China are the leading markets in the world for seal products, which include garments and accessories, though buyers are commonly found throughout the UK, North America and all over the EU.
Some sealers have been witnessed skinning seals alive when they’re unlucky enough to survive being brutally clubbed.
An activist and personal friend of the jailed journalists, Peter Hammarstedt, has issued the following statement: “In a time when the European Union has just banned the import of all seal products, Namibia refuses to join civilized society by continuing the senseless slaughter of seals and by clubbing to death any semblance of freedom of the press or freedom of speech. Bart and Jim are political prisoners and need to be released immediately.”
Leading activist organizations like the Sea Shepard Conservation Society are urging people to please write to the Namibian embassy in your country demanding the release of the journalists.
Source: Sea Shepard News
Image Credit: Sara&Joachim on Flickr under a CC License

Journalists Attacked and Arrested in Namibia for Filming Seal Slaughter

On July 16th at 7 AM on the coast of Namibia, award winning journalists Bart Smithers (South Africa) and Jim Wickens (United Kingdom) were physically assaulted and arrested for filming the Namibian seal cull. They are currently being held at Henties Bay Police Station. Both the South African and British Embassies have been informed and are demanding the release of the journalists.

The two men were filming the controversial hunt in the Cape Cross Seal Reserve in Western Namibia. They were attacked by the sealers who were wielding clubs for the purpose of killing seals. Wickens and Smithers were working with for Eco-Storm on a project regarding the cruel Namibian seal slaughter, in conjunction with Dutch NGO Bontvoordieren. Namibian authorities have confiscated their cameras and video.


Smithers produced the award-winning feature story on Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s 2005/2006 Antarctic Whale Defense Campaign with South Africa 50/50, called “The Hunters Become Hunted”. Smithers has long been involved in conservation journalism and is involved in EcoEye.org which aims to expose those who are damaging, exploiting and ultimately destroying our world for short term gain.

“In a time when the European Union has just banned the import of all seal products, Namibia refuses to join civilized society by continuing the senseless slaughter of seals and by clubbing to death any semblance of freedom of the press or freedom of speech. Bart and Jim are political prisoners and need to be released immediately,” said Peter Hammarstedt, personal friend of Bart Smithers, and first mate of the M/Y Farley Mowat, Sea Shepherd's seal protection vessel. Canadian authorities seized the Farley Mowat after filming a seal being skinned alive in Canada last spring.

Please write to the Namibian embassy in your country demanding the release of the journalists and defend their efforts to expose the cruel Namibian seal slaughter to the world.

THE TRUTH ABOUT WWF

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=66178175201


Recent News
Thank you for your visit please find out more about the WWF and take action if you like... dont forget to tell your friends and invite them to discover the truth!
Millions of people have no idea about the WWF they think that they care about animals!!!!! Well they dont!

The WWF was the driving force in pressuring the U..S.. Congress to legislate the screening of chemicals for "endocrine (hormone) disrupting" effects and has subsequently been heavily involved in establishing the framework for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) massive chemical-testing program now under development. . As its Web site points out: "WWF invested substantial resources in the EPA's Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee," which "agreed upon a set of tests to form the foundation for the screening and testing program.." What the WWF neglects to mention, however, is that 10 of the 15 recommended screens and tests are animal-poisoning studies, some of which kill hundreds or thousands of animals at a time.. According to scientific estimates, the WWF-backed endocrine testing program will kill up to 1..2 million animals for every 1,000 chemicals tested, and with environmental organizations pressing for tens of thousands of chemicals to be retested under this program, the toll in animal suffering and death will be staggering.. The WWF is also pressuring government agencies in Europe to embark on a similar animal-testing program..

In addition to lobbying for more chemical testing, the WWF has teamed up with Procter & Gamble, S..C.. Johnson, and other chemical companies to create an institute to pursue "basic research" on endocrine disruptors.. On top of this, the WWF is now pushing the U..S.. Congress to pass a bill that would pour additional millions in public funds into endocrine research--much of which would likely be used to fund experiments on animals..

Unfortunately, the "endocrine disruptor" issue is not an isolated example.. The WWF has been a major force in pressuring the European Union to amend its Chemicals Policy to require companies to test and retest as many as 30,000 new and existing chemicals.. The British Institute for Environmental Health estimates that this process will kill upwards of 45 million animals if the standard battery of animal-poisoning tests is used.. The WWF's U..S.. and Canadian offices are also calling for more testing of pesticides, despite the fact that more than 9,000 animals are already killed for each pesticide product on the market.. The organization has called for certain pesticides to be tested for "developmental neurotoxicity" (DNT) using a test that kills upwards of 1,300 animals each time it is conducted.. This test has been heavily criticized by scientists, including the EPA's own Scientific Advisory Panel, which concluded that "the exposure of rat fetus/pups was not shown to be equivalent to human fetus/infant during equivalent stages of brain development" and that "the current form of the DNT guideline is not a sensitive indicator of toxicity to the offspring.." In other words, WWF is calling for thousands of animals to be killed in a test that scientists admit is not relevant to humans!

In its defense, the WWF says that "in the absence of effective, validated alternatives, WWF believes that limited animal testing is needed for the long-term protection of wildlife and people throughout the world.." However, there is nothing "limited" about the massive amount of animal testing that the WWF is endorsing.. Dr.. Joshua Lederberg, Nobel Laureate in Medicine, pointed out in 1981: "It is simply not possible with all the animals in the world to go through chemicals in the blind way we have at the present time, and reach credible conclusions about the hazards to human health.." Now more than 20 years later, millions of animals are still dying in agonizing chemical toxicity tests, and we are no closer to getting dangerous chemicals out of the environment. . In fact, despite killing hundreds of thousands of animals in painful chemical toxicity tests, the EPA has not banned a single toxic industrial chemical in more than a decade!...

The WWF Endorses the Killing of Wild Animals, Too!!!
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) gives special meaning to the word "conservation. ." The organization, founded in 1961 by a group of wealthy trophy hunters, apparently believes that conserving animals means keeping them around long enough for well-heeled "sportsmen" to blast them out of the woods, oceans, skies, plains of Africa, and jungles of Asia.. Past WWF chapter presidents include C..R.. "Pink" Gutermuth, who also served as president of the National Rifle Association, and trophy hunter Francis L.. Kellogg, who is legendary for his massive kills.. In its early days, the WWF even used fur auctions to raise funds...

Since then, the WWF has learned that most people are appalled by hunting and trapping, so today, the organization veils its true stance under phrases like "sustainable development, " arguing that killing is acceptable under some circumstances. . When answering difficult questions about its policy on hunting, trapping, and whaling, the WWF is careful never to state outright that it approves of all these activities.. But don't be fooled, the WWF's intentions are all too clear and deadly!!

Sealing
According to the Web site of the WWF's Canadian office, "WWF is not an animal welfare organization. . We support the hunting and consumption of wild animals provided the harvesting does not threaten the long-term survival of wildlife populations. . WWF has never opposed a sustainable seal hunt in northern or eastern Canada.." However, despite the WWF's portrayal of the situation, the Canadian seal hunt is anything but a "subsistence" hunt--it is the largest slaughter of marine mammals in the world.. Quotas established by the Canadian government have soared to an all-time high: 350,000 seals per year for the next three years.. Not since the mid-1800s, when unrestricted slaughter saw a million seals per year killed, has so much blood been shed on the ice off Canada's East Coast...
Worse is that the Canadian government has stated in internal documents that having the WWF's support for any raise in seal quotas is important, and the WWF's position statement suggests that it had been working with the Canadian government before the quota was announced.. In other words, the WWF had the power to help avert the largest quota of harp seal pups in history but chose, instead, to let it happen without so much as a word of opposition!! !

Whaling!!!
While the WWF states that it opposes "commercial whaling," it does support the slaughter of whales by native tribes and under some other conditions.. When asked directly about its policy, WWF is vague, stating: "WWF's views on whether sustainable whaling should be permitted derive from its mission 'to conserve nature and ecological processes and to help build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature..'" In the past, WWF officials have clearly stated that "WWF International has the national WWF organizations behind it in the view that as soon as one can ensure a sustainable commercial harvest of the great whales under secure international control, then whaling will no longer be a WWF concern...."

Sport Hunting!!!
As one would expect of an organization founded by hunters, the WWF does not oppose the slaughter of animals with guns and other weapons for sport.. Rather than working to stop the killing, the WWF believes that hunting should be regulated, arguing that wealthy trophy hunters can bring income to poorer nations.. The WWF claims that it has no power to stop hunting, stating, "The decision to allow trophy hunting is a sovereign one made entirely by the governments concerned. . We will continue to monitor governments' enforcement of important trade laws to ensure that trophy hunting is done within the legal standards of that area...."

Elephants!!!
The WWF believes that culling-another way of saying "killing"-elephants is acceptable, as is the trade in ivory, because the profits that it brings spur governments to keep elephants from going extinct.. In 2000, U..S.. News & World Report reported that WWF representatives traveled to Nairobi to ask the United Nations to lift the ban on the ivory trade in order to allow a "sustainable harvest of ivory for horns and hunting trophies..."

The WWF's bizarre view-that we must kill some animals now in order to save animals to kill later-has proved false time and again.. The trade in ivory has only encouraged rampant poaching, the senseless slaughter of elephants.. The WWF tries to duck the issue by falsely stating, "The decision to cull, or to select animals from the herd for removal or death, is indeed an agonizing choice, but it is one made entirely by the governments concerned and there is no international involvement in those decisions.."

Trapping!!!
As with hunting and whaling, the WWF refuses to condemn the massive killing of animals with steel-jaw leghold traps.. While calling itself a "preservationist" organization that "seek[s] to be the voice for those creatures who have no voice," the WWF stands back from the issue, stating that "the trade in furs, skins, and other products of animals that are not endangered isn't the focus of our campaign.."
But no matter how hard the WWF tries to "greenwash" its support of animal slaughter, its real message rings out loud and clear: Animals are ours to hunt, trap, kill, poison, and use as we see fit.. And although appeals to preserve genetic diversity, ecosystems, and the planet sound good on paper, they mean little if what the WWF is really advocating is more efficient killing fields...

Wolf Hunting!!!
Despite an ongoing international tourist boycott that was called in response to the wolf "control" program in Alaska, in which at least 100 wolves have been shot as of March 2004, the WWF is promoting several trips to Alaska throughout June, July, and August 2004 as part of "WWF Travel," an "ecotourism" program.. When asked why the WWF was sending its members to Alaska, effectively undermining efforts to save wolves in the state, the WWF travel desk representative stated that the WWF did not consider the matter of wolf-killing a priority..

WHAT YOU CAN DO?

Please write to the WWF and express your opposition to its involvement in the slaughter of millions of animals in laboratories. . Let the WWF know that you contribute only to organizations that oppose outdated animal-poisoning tests and that there is no such thing as conservation through killing..

..

James P Leape, Director General WWF-International
Ave du Mont-Blanc
1196 Gland
Switzerland
Fax: 41 22 364 5468
E-Mail: jleape@wwfint. org

Carter S Roberts, President and CEO WWF-US
1250 24th St NW
Washington, DC 20037
Fax: 202- 778-9637
E-Mail: patricia.. gvozdich@wwfus. . org

MJ Russill, President and CEO... WWF-Canada
245 Eglinton Ave E, Ste 410
Toronto, ON M4P 3J1
Fax: 416-489-3611. ..
E-Mail: mrussill@wwfcanada.org...

Elizabeth Salter Green, Head...
European Toxics Programme...
WWF-UK...
Panda House, Weyside Park
Godalming, Surrey GU7 1XR
Fax: 011 44 148 342 6409
E-Mail: esaltergreen@wwf.org.uk
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=66178175201

Will Schwarzenegger cost San Diego millions to destroy seals' home?

As featured on the front page of the July 10 San Diego Union Tribue (with APRL's Sealwatch program pictured), Senate Bill 428 to save the La Jolla seals and their home passed the state assembly 71-0 after previously passing the senate 30-4.
However, Governor Schwarzenegger says he is not signing any bills that are not budget related. What he needs to understand is that failing to sign SB428 will cost San Diego millions of dollars in a fiscal crisis, because without it Judge Yuri Hoffman is free to continue forcing the city to follow his ridiculous sand dredging and seal chasing plan.
Because Schwarzenegger is threatening to veto any bill that crosses his desk until the legislature agrees to his budget, the bill author is not even going to send him SB428 until he agrees to sign it.
Please flood Schwarzenegger' s office with letters, faxes, phone calls and e-mails demanding that he sign this important measure to relieve San Diego from an extreme and unjust financial burden! If you are on Twitter, you can also post a message @Schwarzenegger.

The next hearing before Judge Hoffman is on July 20, when he will likely order the city to begin chasing seals if the bill is not signed. However, the La Jolla firm of BLUMENTHAL, NORDREHAUG & BHOWMIK has filed a new lawsuit for APRL to block this outcome, as reported in the SDUT, LJ Light, and AP.
There will be a hearing before Judge Meyer on July 15 at 8:30am in Dept. 61 at 220 W. Broadway St., San Diego, CA for a temporary restraining order. The public is welcome to attend to watch.
2) Join us at the San Diego Pride Festival

Join APRL at our booth at the San Diego Pride Festival! This is a huge festival and a great opportunity to do some pro-vegetarian outreach. Please email us if you would like to sign up for a shift!

Shifts are:
Saturday, July 18th-12:00pm- 3:00pm, 3:00pm-6pm, 6pm-9pm
Sunday, July 19th-11:00am- 2:00pm, 2:00pm-5:00pm, 5:00pm-8:00pm

3) APRL at Ponto's Big Wave Cafe

Join us at Ponto's Big Wave Cafe in North County on July 23rd! 20% of the proceeds will go to APRL and this will be a great time to catch up on recent campaign activity and mingle with like-minded folks. We look forward to seeing you there!

When: July 23rd, 2009 6:00-8:00
Where: 7720 El Camino Real
Encinitas, CA 921009

Namibian Seals.Media Release

Seal Alert-SA, Media Release, 9 July, 2009
It is now the 9th Day, and still the cull has not started, and with over 100 media articles around the world - no seal pups have been clubbed to death, although one news report claimed it had started today.

For those of you, who are not supportive of the buyout, please read the Examiner's Amy Lou Jenkins article and view the slideshow for conclusive proof,
http://www.examiner.com/x-4002-Milwaukee-Green-Living-Examiner~y2009m7d9-Myths-keep-some-from-supporting-the-effort-to-stop-Cape-seal-slaughter

Latest article in Namibia, "Australian mogul asks for N$116 million to save seals" http://www.informante.web.na/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4396& Itemid=101.
.
HSI 'Offer' Seal Alert-SA the $14 Million, and I mean NOW ! ...

The 'business' of shutting down the Namibian Seal Cull gets 'dirty'. These are the facts that need exposure to save a million endangered Cape fur seal pup lives.

HSI must do whatever it takes to immediately contact Francois Hugo of Seal Alert-SA and offer it the $14 million US dollars needed to buyout the Namibian Sealing Industry as per the written and signed offer Seal Alert-SA received in June 2009. HSI and Seal Alert should sit down with the Namibian Sealing Industry in Cape Town this next week, and start to deal.

Seal Alert-SA's only demand in these negotiations. Is the the Seal cull must end immediately, and I want the factories, the sealing rights for a million Cape fur seals until 2019, the full sealing annual quota, and the consent of the Minister. The final price to be paid to end it and how, and buyout the industry completely, to be worked out between the Namibian sealing industry and HSI. The deal must be concluded this week legally.

The Facts :

In March 2006, Cathy Kangas sends a letter to the Prime Minister of Canada, it reads, "If you stop this year's hunt immediately, we will provide you with $16 million to be distributed at your discretion", and goes on to say, "If this is really simply an economic problem, then take our offer. The money is being raised from animal protection groups worldwide including The Humane Society of the United States, which alone has more than 9 million members". (see letter below)

No prior offer from the Canadian govt or sealers and with no guarantees $16 million was offered, Seal Alert demands the same for the Namibian Cape fur seals.

In August 2006, the Humane Society of the United States website, reads, "Namibia's Commercial Seal Hunt Threatens Species Conservation" . It states further, "In 2000, Humane Society International sent a letter to then-President Sam Nujoma, urging him to reduce the quota and phase out the seal hunt. The letter was ignored. In 2000, the seal pup quota was 60 000, three years later, it is now 85 000. The website reads further, "In late 2006, more than 3 200 emails from HSI activists were sent to the Prime Minister. There has still been no response from government" . http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/marine_mammals_news/ namibian_ seal_hunt. html and http://www.hsus.org/hsi/oceans/seals/

Naomi A. Rose, Ph.D. Senior Scientist at Humane Society International is the person tasked by HSI to deal with the Namibian seal cull. Humane Society International - Australia, website in August 2006 reads, "EXTINCTION - Take Action, Action Alert - Please stop the Namibian Seal Slaughter" . http://www.hsi.org.au/?catID=442

In September 2006, Dr Caroline Lucas MEP (UK) co-writer of the Written Declaration to ban seal products in Europe, (that lead to the all seal species, full seal product import ban announced by the EU in May 2009), writes, "We are horrified that the Namibian authorities are culling 85,000 seal pups this year - an act of unjustified cruelty. The culls in Canada and Russia have been much publicized but until this week we were unaware of the plight of the Cape fur seals. We agree that any European ban must include all seal products and will do all that we can to help bring about an end to the unnecessary and inhumane slaughter of seal pups in Namibia".

This declaration or ban, would have seen all seal species, including Cape fur seals, excluded for the EU, and only sort to ban the non-endangered Harp and Hooded seal species.

4 days later, Cath Miller assistant to MEP Caroline Lucas, mistakenly copies Seal Alert in an email to Caroline, it reads, "He is basically saying he intends to make a complaint against you to the Commission for deliberately lying in a written declaration, and if that is not successful he will campaign to get the written declaration withdrawn. Francois does have the resources to launch an international campaign to the Commission but basically he is a bully". It reads further, "I cannot stress enough that your intention to complain to the Commission about the written declaration is misguided. You risk derailing the whole process and ensuring that legislation banning (just harp and hooded) seal products is never drawn up by the Commission. Caroline intends to use her considerable experience and understanding of the European political process to correct the original omission and argue for a ban that includes products from all seals, including Cape fur seals in Namibia".

Caroline Lucas then writes, "I am not willing to accept any bullying of any member of my staff. I have indicated my willingness to do all that I can to ensure European Legislation includes a ban on the trade in Cape fur seal products, as the omission of this species from the written declaration (and all other 15 species of seal hunted around the world) was an oversight on the part of the co-authors. Please do not communicate with my office ever again".

In July 2007, Prime Minister, Nahus Angela sends an email to Francois Hugo of Seal Alert-SA inviting him to a meeting with himself and Minister of Fisheries at his parliament offices in Windhoek.

On July 2007, following my meeting with the Prime Minister, HSI's Naomi Rose writes, "We want to coordinate all our Namibian campaign efforts with Seal Alert because we recognise your central role in this campaign".

Last year, 1 July 2008, Brussels EU. Press Release, supported by Eurogroupforanimals , IFAW, Humane Society International, GAIA, calls for a "International demonstration calls for strong ban on seal products". The release reads, "The date of the demonstration was selected to coincide with the start of the French presidency and the start of the Namibian seal hunt, which is the second largest in the world".
http://www.eurogroupanimalwelfare.org/news/pdf/prpredemo1july08.pdf

July 2009, taken from the Humane Society website, "HSUS is the nation's largest and most effective animal protection organizations - back by 11 million Americans, or one in every 28. The Humane Society seeks a humane and sustainable world for all animals - a world that will also benefit people. We are America's mainstream force against cruelty, exploitation and neglect, as well as the most trusted voice extolling the humane-animal bond."
http://www.hsus.org/hsi/about_us/and
http://www.hsus.org/about_us/

It is time HSUS and HSI live up to their commitments and policy. Hundreds of millions of dollars has been donated over the past 30 years to these anti-seal hunt ngo's, it is time they pay some of it back, to end their first Seal Hunt.

Why should American supporters support this buyout of the sealing industry in Namibia, simply because America was one of the country's that started sealing in southern Africa, and directly caused the extinction of 23 seal colonies or 98 percent of the Cape fur seal population, that has never recovered and because the American govt was the first country to ban these imports in 1972, which unfortunately did not stop the seal cull?

Seal Alert-SA email to Naomi Rose of HSI, receives the following response, "I will on vacation July 3-5 and then away on business July 6-10. I will be checking emails regularly next week, but please be patient if my response is delayed. I will not be checking voice mail. Thank you". Francois comments, "Is that not just typical first on holiday, no checking of voicemail, and then flying around on anti-seal hunt supporter donations, whilst the world largest seal cull starts".

All emails, phone-calls and attempts to get HSI to answer questions, even on a radio station last night, for their complete lack of concern and inactivity, have received no response or even the concern of a reply.

HSI/HSUS has between 2006 and 2009 increased its membership by 2 million activists, if each of these new members, since HSI announced, "EXTINCTION - Take Action, Action Alert - Please stop the Namibian Seal Slaughter" on their website, each donated $7 just once, we would have the funds for buyout and stop the seal cull in Namibia and save 1 million Cape fur seal pups from clubbing.

If a single Cape fur seal pup dies this season I will hold HSI personally responsible, primarily due to their complete lack of communication in this matter.

For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
27-21-790 8774
http://sealalertsa.wordpress.com/

(US/ca) Animal-rights group files suit to save seals

LA JOLLA: Animal-rights advocates have filed a new lawsuit seeking to
bar San Diego from dispersing the seal colony at Children's Pool beach
in La Jolla.

The suit, filed in San Diego Superior Court, follows the dismissal of
a related lawsuit by a U.S. District Court judge last week.

A state law requires San Diego to maintain Children's Pool as a
swimming area for people.

Under a 2005 Superior Court ruling, the city must reduce bacterial
contamination at the beach so it can be restored for that purpose.

City leaders have proposed scaring away the seals by amplifying the
sound of barking dogs.

The next court hearing to discuss that method and alternate strategies
will be July 20.

--
full story:
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/08/animal-rights-group-files-suit-save-seals/