The end of March began the horrifically cruel and ecologically damaging Canadian seal hunt. There are many organizations around the world that are fighting to abolish this archaic slaughter. The Sea Shepherd, which had headquarters in Malibu, is one. Many Malibuites may have been present for the send-off party for the crew and Captain Paul Watson, the Sea Shepherd’s Farley Mowat captain. These brave men and women, who are presently in the freezing cold of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, have devoted their lives to being the shepherds of the harp seal.
There have been daily reports from the Farley Mowat available online via the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
After crossing a mile of ice to witness and document sealing activities by the Newfoundland sealer, Brady Mariner, they were attacked by eight sealers armed with hak-a-pics.
Captain Watson called the Coast Guard icebreaker Amundsen and requested that the Mounted Police officers on board investigate the assault. They did not reply. Instead a helicopter was dispatched to arrest the Sea Shepherd crew on the ice. All were kept in plastic handcuffs for nine hours and had to spend the time sitting on a metal deck on board the icebreaker Amundsen. When released they were turned out on the streets of Charlottetown without funds or means of returning to the ship. Sea Shepherd Advisory Board member Bob Talbot arrived in one of two helicopters chartered by the Humane Society of the United States and retrieved all the photos and video taken since the opening of the seal slaughter on March 29. This means that the evidence of the assault by the sealers on the Farley Mowat crew will not be captured, confiscated or destroyed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans promotes the myth that the sealer is a hard-working, courageous man just trying to support his family. Yet, the truth is that there is nothing courageous about walking around in a nursery bashing baby seals in the head.
The presence of the Farley Mowat, the storm and the assaults on and arrests of the Sea Shepherd crew have provoked international media interest in the seal slaughter. The Sea Shepherd crewmembers have taken to the ice floes. You may not be able to join them there, but you can show your support and let the embassy and consuls know that you, your family and friends will be boycotting all exports from Canada and you will never travel on Canadian airlines until the stop this brutal slaughter .
Alessandra DeClario