In what may prove to be some of the most violent footage of the 2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt to date, the International Fund for Animal Welfare has posted this short video of two seal pups clearly in agony as they are attempted to be killed by rifle fire and in the last case a subsequent clubbing.  Please consider donating today to help IFAW end this cruel hunt once and for all.

Three Dutch members of parliament and dozens of school children participated in IFAW's campaign for a European ban on Seal products on 1 April 2008 in The Hague, The Netherlands.  The parliamentary members from the liberal, social, and social democratic parties demonstrated their support by climbing up a ladder to place puzzle pieces in the form of European  countries on a large billboard map, symbolizing the European countries that currently  do not have a ban on seal products.  The children cheered and waved European flags in the air as each member took on the brave task of climbing the ladder to the top.

This image of a sealer dragging a bleeding seal across the ice while another sealer takes aim at a different pup was taken on day two of the Canadian commercial seal hunt. 

Please consider donating to the International Fund for Animal Welfare's hunt monitoring teams to purchase equipment, fuel and fund research efforts that allow us to make the legal case that this hunt must end. 

IFAW 2008 Seal Hunt PSA - "Animal Welfare" from IFAW on Vimeo.

Longtime International Fund for Animal Welfare Supporter D'arcy Callahan speaks about his 21 years of involvement with IFAW.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare's J.C. Bouvier filed this report from P.E.I. Canada...

In my role for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) I'm not usually able to get out into the field for actual campaign activities with animals. However on Monday I and my coworker Ed Butler received an offer to go out onto the ice and visit with the maturing harp seal pups on the ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

After discovering the joys of getting into the emblematic orange "Mustang" suits...Ed and I acclimated quickly to our first helicopter ride...our pilot Martin was both very professional and genuinely concerned that everyone on board was comfortable and enjoying the experience...once we spotted beater seal pups...the ride became a surreal landing into the scene I had only witnessed in video and still photographs...and I don't know that I was truly prepared for the beauty, but perhaps more importantly the reality that these creatures could be violently attacked for profit within the coming hours...

Once on the ice, Ed, the other passengers and I worked to both be respectful of the seals space...while trying to get as close as possible...we looked a bit like seals ourselves as we slid quietly toward a pair of beaters who were basking in the sun.  They were ultimately very patient and kind while we snapped a few photos and stared in a sort of stunned silence...contemplating our lying on the frozen ocean, working to protect these gentle and timid creatures.

More to come...

This report was filed by IFAW Seal Communications Officer Katie McConnell...

In preparation for HuntWatch, our team has to complete a myriad of tasks before arriving in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Most tasks are fairly standard…gather key footage, pack up video cameras and editing equipment, organize information for DFO observer permits, etc., etc. This year however, we added a less conventional task that needed to be completed…an underwater aircraft ditching course! Now you may ask what an underwater aircraft ditching course has to do with seals, but the answer is very simple.

In light of last year’s global warming disaster in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, our team had to fly almost exclusively over open water. Not to mention we haven’t been able to land our helicopter on a solid piece of ice since 2005! The team realized it would be in our best interest to have a bit of training under our belts on how to survive in the “unlikely event of a water landing.” Sure, makes total sense on paper, but what does this training actually entail? How about getting into an open-ended piece of fuselage, strapping yourself to a chair, closing your eyes and waiting for the entire thing to be dunked into a swimming pool and tipped upside down underwater? I’m not kidding.

Our observation team headed to Survival Systems, Inc. in Groton, CT to learn how to get ourselves safely out of a submerged helicopter. The staff there was extremely knowledgeable and took us step-by-step through the skills we needed to escape through windows and doors in order to get to the surface of the water. The system was pretty easy to grasp. We were advised to stay seated and strapped to our chairs as the water rushed in through the floor and the simulator tipped upside down.

The thinking here was to keep us in one spot with a constant orientation to the window or door next to us. As long as we stayed in the same position, we couldn’t float around the cabin or lose our way out. After several hours of practice in the pool (luckily it was 80 degrees) and about 5 or 6 escapes, we all felt pretty confident in our aircraft ditching abilities. We now have a lot more respect for the safety precautions we take before flying out over the Gulf as well as invaluable skills in how to save our own lives should we ever be faced with a ditching situation. Of course, as luck would have it, now that we are freshly trained in underwater egress, there seems to be ice in the gulf ;-)

This photo of Pedro the Tiny Activist was sent in by his owner, who is also an IFAW supporter...apparently Pedro and the supporter often are asked about the cause while out walking...and they do their best to inform and tell people to visit the IFAW.org site. 

It's a true example of every little effort helping to drive momentum for the entire cause.  We here at Headquarters truly appreciate the support of Pedro, his owner and folks like yourself who are helping us spread the world and make this a better world for animals and people.

The IFAW team has been scouting the waters off the coast of Newfoundland for the last day and a half. Yesterday, we had very little luck finding any sealing activity. In fact, there were even difficulties finding herds of beater seal pups. Several concentrations of adult seals were spotted but we were unable to find any hunting activity. Where are the beater seals? Tragically, I worry that many of these younger seals may have perished before the hunt opened.

Our team continued out today to survey the area and we are currently observing 3 sealing vessels. We’re working to document any hunting activity and our photographer and videographer are on-site to capture any instances of cruelty that may occur. This year continues to be very different from other observation events and even the Canadian government is having trouble getting their own officials out on the ice. Yesterday, several fisheries ministers had to observe the hunt from a Coast Guard vessel instead of from the ice. DFO officials concur that this year’s ice conditions are extremely poor and are hindering the sealing industry’s hunting capabilities. In normal years a single boat could bring back anywhere 500 and 700 seals, so far this year sealers are pulling in around 50 or 60. We hope that the government will acknowledge the serious effect that global warming is having on this seal population and that decision makers will ultimately take this man-made strain off of Canada’s harp seal herd.

Tomorrow, the seal hunt in the southern part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence is set to open. This hunt covers the area we’ve been visiting for the past two weeks. All of the seals that are in our most recent footage and the still images which we’ve fed out to the global news markets are now targets for tomorrow’s hunt. Many of the whitecoat seals we spotted two weeks ago are starting to molt their fur and become silvery beater pups. These same seals, which were illegal to hunt two weeks ago, are now fair game for sealers.

The Canadian government often criticizes us for calling the hunted seals “babies.” They like to say that while whitecoats are babies, beaters are not. What the government neglects to say is that beaters are only two weeks older than whitecoats – they are essentially pups, still in their formative stages. Still learning how to swim. Still learning how to feed themselves. Sometimes, these seals haven’t even had their first solid meal. These are the seals that the hunters will target tomorrow.

Today, IFAW’s surveillance team headed out to the Cabot Strait again to see what was out there. The report back was that there was even more open water than in previous flights. This lack of ice won’t stop the hunters from collecting their share of the 270,000 seals the government allows to be killed. In these conditions, seals are shot in the open water and often times drown before they can be retrieved.

While sealers will be starting to hunt older seals this coming Monday, younger pups (like the one on the left) are struggling to hold onto the poor iceflows that can't support mother and child.

Here in Canada, around the world and on the Internet, there is a lot of discussion about things like how these seals aren't an endangered species, and how they've grown even more abundant and so they are in no danger of disappearing...

Um...this really isn't the point...the point is that clubbing an animal, on the skull, and then skinning it to create luxury items is cruel.  These animals are suffering, and yes certainly a tangential/absurd argument can be made that there are other animals who are less 'cute' who are harvested for the worlds use day in and day out...and to that I say that IFAW works dilligently to make a better world for all animals and people as much as our limited resources allow...in an approach that considers soveregnty, respects cultures, observes and operates within the boundaries of law.

Help support IFAW's work to make its pragmatic and acheivable goals a reality.  Sign up or donate today.

After scanning the southern section of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, very few harp seals have been spotted.  Of the few that have been seen, there is growing concern that the ice in this region is not big enough to support the weight and space needed for the young white coats to nurse...and so many may wind up abandoned by their mothers and ultimately may die.

The issues surrounding both the reasons why this year's ice is so poor and the politics of the upcoming decision by the Canadian government to continue to hunt this depreciating population of marine mammals are coming to a head. 

IFAW's team of researchers, field personnel and communications staff is currently preparing to make sure when the time comes, that these defenseless creatures will have a voice in Canada, the EU and the world at large.

Stay tuned for ongoing campaign updates from our team members and please donate or take action today and send a message to the Canadian government that sealing is a cruel and unnecessary practice and should be stopped right now!

Hey, J.C. Bouvier here with an update on our arrival into our base camp in P.E.I. Canada. So, on our way into Halifax, Ed Butler and I were warmly welcomed by the customs officals who kindly asked us to stop by immigration on our way through. 

The young lady behind the desk asked both Ed and I what it was exactly we were to be doing during our stay...to which Ed and I replied honestly...we would be gathering video and audio for this blog among other things.  This declaration caused the young immigration person to review some Canadian law, codes and other miscellaneous facts and figures...at the end of the 35 minute exchange...we were told that we would need work permits:  Cost $150 Canadian dollars each.   D'oh!

The photo you see of Ed shows his glee upon receiving the news...added benefit...due to the missed flight we were able to take in a bit of the local food, beverage and entertainment...including 3 holes of Golden Tee 2004...

Ed Butler +9
J.C. Bouvier +3

Ed Butler and JC Bouvier are members of IFAW's Online Campaigns and Marketing department based at the International Headquarters on Cape Cod, MA