Expedition to Seal Nursery Spotlights Pups Slated for Slaughter

February 29, 2008

By Rebecca Aldworth 

Just days ago, HSI and The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS) returned from one of the most brutal seal hunts we have ever witnessed—the slaughter of baby grey seals in a protected nature reserve off Nova Scotia. What we saw was horrific, and a haunting reminder of what's to come just weeks from now, when Canada's much larger commercial hunt for harp seals begins in earnest.

Today, we leave again on a bittersweet expedition. We are making our annual trip to the ice floes to film the spectacular harp seal nursery before the commercial seal hunt starts.

Each winter, mother harp seals migrate to the sea ice off Canada's east coast, giving birth to their pups in early March. The harp seal nursery that forms is one of the most breathtaking wilderness scenes on earth.

But the scene is fleeting: within weeks, seal hunters arrive to kill the defenseless pups, turning the ice floes into an open-air slaughterhouse.

This will be my tenth year on the ice floes with the seals. Each time I go, the sight of the fat, innocent pups, languishing on the pristine ice feels like coming home. The magnificent ice formations, the striking colors blazing across the frozen landscape as the sun sets, the brilliant blue of the frigid ocean—all change the way I see this planet and our place within it.

This year, I return to the nursery with two powerful allies—Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS, and Nigel Barker, the world-famous fashion photographer and judge on "America's Next Top Model." Together, they will raise global awareness of the plight of these innocent pups—who in just a few weeks time will fall victim to the world's largest slaughter of marine mammals.

Not everyone can come to the ice floes, but you can be a part of our effort to end the hunt once and for all. Please return to hear from Wayne and Nigel about their experiences on the ice. And find out what you can do to help us put a final end to Canada's cruel slaughter of baby seals.

Seal Hunt 2008 Overview

A Note on Grey Seals and Harp Seals

Both grey seals and harp seals—the latter named for the harp-shaped markings on the backs of the adults—are intensely social mammals, gathering in groups to give birth and nurse along the Atlantic coast of Canada.

Grey seals (who can live to be 46 years old) were nearly wiped out in eastern Canada in the last century and they have only just recovered.

Now, both grey and harp seal pups are shot and clubbed to death for their fur. Each year, hundreds of thousands of the gentle harp seals are killed in Canada's infamous commercial seal hunt.