The IFAW observation team has arrived safely in Charlottetown, PEI to once again observe Canada's Commercial Seal Hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We've moved our supplies and helicopters into the hangar and are set and ready to document the hunt with photographers, vidographers and a special high definition camera mounted to the bottom of one of the helicopters.

The seal herd this year is packed in close to the northwest section of The Magdalen Islands and there is solid ice in the gulf for the first time since 2005. The commercial seal hunt officially opened yesterday with a "landsmen" hunt -- where sealers walk off the islands or use snowmobiles to access the hunt. Unfortunately, due to poor weather conditions -- fog, snow and high winds -- we were unable to take our helicopters out to observe and document any sealing activity. This morning we awoke to more snow, so the outlook is not so good for documentation today either. Our best hope is that the weather will clear and we will be able to get out later today so we can show the world the cruelty that occurs on the ice floes off the eastern coast of Canada.

The International Herald Tribune is reporting that Russia has pledged to ban the killing of all baby harp seals less than one year old.

Read the article here: http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/27/europe/27seals.php

The International Fund for Animal Welfare's (IFAW) Director in Russia, Masha Vorontsova was quoted in the article as saying ""It should not be confused with an actual ban, remember 35,000 baby seals will still be killed in the White Sea next month unless Russian ministers act swiftly to complete their pledge."

Here, also is a link to IFAW's press release.

How will this move by Putin's government affect the upcoming deliberations of the European Union on their potential seal product ban?

Stay tuned...

Filed by J.C. Bouvier, IFAW Hunt Watch team member, en route to the Isle de Madalein in the Gulf of St. Lawrence...follow his travels and experiences on a seal pup watch this weekend, and IFAW actions in general on Twitter. http://www.twitter.com/action4ifaw