Purrs 4 Peace Week 35 Announcement: Baby Seals Clubbing is not Sporting

May all that have life be delivered from suffering.
-- Buddha

The Winter Olympics is set to begin in Vancouver, Canada on February 12th. But the image I have of Canada this year won’t be of smiling olympians, snow covered mountain peaks, and athletic glory. In my minds eye I am seeing the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of seals in a hunt sponsored and sanctioned by the Canadian government. Indeed, Canadian government (Dept of Fisheries and Oceans) has made a decision to allow commercial slaughter of 2220 baby seals on Hay Island around February 8th. What a way to welcome the world to your country....with blood and pain.

And a larger hunt is expected to begin in March after the Olympics end.... a massacre expected to exceed 200,000. Gentle baby seals are shot or clubbed. Many are bludgeoned before they have had their first solid meal or learned to swim. Sealers are known to hook the seals, in the eye, cheek or mouth to avoid damaging the pelts. And if anyone thinks that these animals are not sentient and cannot feel pain they should see video of the mothers, forced to watch just a few feet away as they cry out when their pup is killed.

This....the largest slaughter of marine animals in the world...has to be stopped!

What can we do?

* A number of organizations have information as to supporting a ban on their sites including:

PETA http://www.peta.org/feat-canadaSealHunt.asp

The Humane Society of the United States http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/seal_hunt/

• Boycott Canadian products and don’t spend your tourist dollars in Canada. ***I have tons of Canadian friends and it pains me to recommend this.
• Write/e-mail NBC who is broadcasting the Olympics. If they believe they might lose viewership of this event, it is possible some pressure may be exerted.
• Do not buy any product with fur or even questionable faux fur.
• Write the Canadian Prime Minister.

Snail mail address: The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON
Canada K1A 0A2

Email address: pm@pm.gc.ca

****A recent poll indicated over 70% of Canadians oppose the seal hunt. It is apparently only politicians and special interest business that support it.

Last...but not least....we purrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Week 35 of Purrs 4 Peace details are as follows:

• Week thirty-five’s appointed time is Sunday, February 7, 2010.
• Participants should purr for three minutes commencing at 3 p.m. EST (U.S.) which is 8:00 p.m. (20:00 hrs.) BST in the U.K.
• The cat’s human staff should assist their cats with the project by stroking and nuzzling the cat at the appointed time.
• Please post your cat name and the country you purr in at www.confuciuscat.blogspot.com as a COMMENT if you are participating in this historic project. (posting a link to your own website-if you have one-is encouraged.) Or let me know by message on twitter or facebook.
• Posting purrs on facebook ( Acolytes of Confucius Cat or as friend to Alley Mason) and twitter (@ConfuciusCat) is encouraged, since it inspires purring in others, but not required. On twitter please use #purrs4peace in your tweets.

Peace * Paix * Frieden * Vrede * Pace * Paz * Shalom * Salaam * Om Shanti * Heddwch * Síochán * 和平