Historic Efforts to Phase Out Canada's Commercial Seal Slaughter Earn Lawmaker Top Honours
For Immediate Release:
December 26, 2012
Contact:
Kaitlynn Kelly 202-483-7382
Ottawa -- It has been a landmark year for Sen. Mac Harb, whose historic Bill S-210, which would phase out the commercial seal slaughter, was unanimously passed to a second reading in Canada's Senate, thereby ensuring that the debate will continue. And to honour the senator for his tireless efforts, PETA will present him with the group's 2012 Canadian of the Year award in his Ottawa office on Thursday.
When: Thursday, December 27, 11 a.m.
Where: Office of Sen. Mac Harb, 376 East Block, The Senate of Canada, Parliament Hill, Ottawa
"It's clear to PETA that with Sen. Harb's leadership and hard work, it's only a matter of time before the cruel, economically unviable commercial seal slaughter is relegated to the history books," says PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews.
As Sen. Harb has explained in speeches to the Senate and on The Huffington Post, the market for seal products has all but disappeared. The European Union, Russia (which had been importing 95 percent of Canadian seal pelts), and the U.S. have all banned Canadian seal fur imports. In addition, millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted propping up this industry, which costs the country at least $7 million each year. "[T]he majority of Canadians want an end to the commercial seal hunt," Sen. Harb said in his Senate address on June 14. "[T]he [government needs] to be frank with commercial sealers and to help them move beyond the clinically dead seal hunt."
For more information, please visit PETA.org.