Historic Efforts to Phase Out Canada's Commercial Seal Slaughter Land Lawmaker Top Honours
For
Immediate Release:
December
27, 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. Sen. Harb first introduced a bill to phase out the commercial seal slaughter in 2009, but no other senator was willing to second the motion. He introduced another such bill in 2010 and finally received a second, but other senators stopped the bill from being debated. This year, his perseverance paid off. Now, PETA is honouring Sen. Harb's tireless efforts with the group's 2012 Canadian of the Year award. He received a plaque and a letter of appreciation from PETA in his Ottawa office today.
"It's clear to PETA that with Senator 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, the market for seal products has all but disappeared. The U.S., the European Union, and Russia—which had been importing 95 percent of Canadian seal pelts—have all banned seal fur. In addition to the lack of markets, millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted propping up this industry. A study in 2010 at Canada's University of Guelph found that ending the slaughter would save 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.