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Greetings!
SHARK’s Tiger video truck has just returned from a
weeklong visit to Canada aimed at showing Canadians
what the Canadian government is hiding from the
public, and what the Canadian media refuses to air –
graphic, no holds barred video footage of the
outrageous and repulsive slaughter in 2005 and 2006
of baby seals. Veterinary reports indicate that
many seals have been skinned while still conscious
and able to feel pain. This was a cooperative
effort involving numerous Canadian and American
animal protection organizations, under the
leadership of Rebecca Aldworth, Director of Wildlife
Issue for the Humane Society of the United States.
Though plans for the trip were underway for some
time, news was withheld so as not to give the
Canadian government opportunities to withhold
permission to enter the country. We spent two nights
touring the Tiger in each of three major Canadian
cities – Toronto, Ottawa (the capital), and Montreal.
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Toronto Kick Off
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The Toronto skyline stands as a backdrop for the
Tiger’s educational exhibition. The Canadian
government lies to its people about the hunt, and
the Canadian media refuses to air the graphic
images, so the Tiger was just the educational tool
needed to deliver the truth.
Toronto was closest to the border, and our first
town. The Tiger drew the attention of the media from
the very first night. Click
here to read Toronto newspaper coverage. It
was
a very short but very sweet article.
The second night in Toronto featured a visit to a
local television station from singer Gwen Stefani,
which attracted hundreds of young people. Ms.
Stefani was there to promote her latest release and
upcoming tour. The Tiger and local activists took
full advantage of the opportunity. We were there to
talk about the seals. Rebecca Aldworth and her team
gathered a ton of signatures for a petition for the
government to end the slaughter.
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Ottawa: Capital City
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People in every city took pamphlets and expressed
shock and repulsion
at the video of the horrific slaughter of baby seals.
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, so when the Tiger
visited we knew that many MPs (Members of
Parliament) would have an opportunity to see not
only the footage of the slaughter, but also the
reaction of their constituents to the unspeakable
cruelty. After two nights of displaying the seal
massacre around the upscale restaurant area
frequented by MPs, we left assured that plenty of
politicians had been confronted with the cruel
slaughter issue.
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Montreal
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On our first night in Montreal, the Tiger paid a
visit to the Canadian equivalent of the Democratic
party convention. It was the first time a Canadian
political party was confronted with the horror of
the sickening slaughter of baby seals.
The weather of the trip had been unseasonably warm,
and we were feeling very fortunate. That good luck
ended as we headed for Montreal. It was a miserable
day, with freezing rain, snow and high winds. By the
time the Tiger rolled into Montreal, it was
practically encased in ice. But the cold and wet
didn’t keep people in Montreal from learning the
awful truth of the brutal seal slaughter. The second
half of the first night in Montreal was spent
outside the convention of the liberal political
party of Canada – the equivalent of the
Democratic party in Canada.
The convention was held on the second floor of a
large building, and there were windows all along the
outside. The Tiger was either driving around the
building or parked just outside, and in either case
there were throngs of people viewing the murderous
massacre that so few politicians in Canada have the
backbone to stand up against.
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What You Can Do
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Montreal, as with the rest of Quebec, is a
largely French-speaking people, so about half of the
Tiger’s text was in French.
SHARK is very happy to have been able to help on
this issue, and we may be able to do more in the
future. The seal slaughter is an issue that demands
justice. The babies literally cry out for our help,
and we intend to do what we can to help end this
atrocity.
What You Can Do:
Please let the Canadian government know your
feelings about the slaughter of helpless babies, and
the impact this has on your opinion of Canada. Let
the government know that you won't buy Canadian
products or travel there so long as this abomination
continues. Here is the contact information for the
Prime Minister:
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
phone: (613) 992-4211
e-mail: pm@pm.gc.ca
You can also go to www.ProtectSea
ls.org
to view
video, photos, and read more information on this
vital campaign.
The sick, perverted psychopaths who bludgeon baby
seals and skin them alive are as repulsive a group
of humans as one might find. But in essence they
are no different than the jerks at Cingu
lar,
who
support the torture, maiming and killing of animals
in rodeos, or the politicians who for a payoff will
vote to allow the slaughter of
horses.
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SHARK’s Janet Enoch and HSUS’ Rebecca Aldworth
stand
in front of the Tiger in Toronto on the first night
of the six-night Canadian exhibition.
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Call Senators Today to Prevent Horse Slaughter
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This horse looks back from the line into the
slaughter plant.
Your action is needed as the Horse Slaughter
Prevention Act has the opportunity to come before a
vote in the Senate soon! There are only a few days
left in the current session, and if the Senate doesn't
vote on S. 1915 (The American Horse
Slaughter Prevention Act ) before it ends, the House
bill will be dead and animal advocates will have to
start the process all over again next year.
Meanwhile, more than 100,000 wild and domestic
horses will be slaughtered for human consumption.
Call Your Senators Today and urge them to
bring S. 1915 to a vote before Congress adjourns and
to vote yes on it.
FIND PHONE, FAX, EMAIL FOR YOUR 2 U.S.
SENATORS AT RESOURCES BELOW:
Congress.org - http://www.Congres
s.org
USA Senate - http://www.senate.go
v
Project Vote Smart - http://www.vote-
smart.org
Capitol Switchboard - 202-224-3121
Here are some talking points that you can use when
calling and incorporate into letters courtesy Kinship
Circle:
*I respectfully ask Senators representing my district
to proceed with the American Horse Slaughter
Prevention Act (S. 1915) -- so this bill reaches the
floor for a vote BEFORE
Congress adjourns.
A federal ban is imperative to stop the annual killing
of some 100,000
horses for consumption abroad. Horse slaughter is a
profoundly inhumane
industry. Discarded, usually young and healthy,
horses are sent from auction to slaughter inside
double-decker livestock trailers built for smaller
animals. Most arrive
weak, dehydrated and injured after treks that last up
to 30 hours.
At the processing plant horses are herded into
holding pens, where they
subsist amid the inescapable stench of blood and
death. On the killing
floor, workers fire metal shunts into their brains. The
captive bolt pistols
(crafted for cows, sheep and pigs) are rarely forceful
enough to stun these
long-necked animals. Dangling by a shackled rear leg,
many regain
consciousness as their throats are slit and their
bodies dismembered.
I call upon each of you to act on behalf of U.S.
voters who overwhelmingly
support a ban on horse slaughter. Americans don't
consume horsemeat and
don't want our horses killed for overseas diners.
Please address S. 1915
before adjournment and bring it before the full
Senate for a vote.
Thank you,
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Donate to SHARK with Holiday Shopping!
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Help us keep the Tiger working to bring the truth
to the streets!
While doing your holiday shopping (or shopping
anytime of
year) you can help animals and SHARK simply by doing
your
online shopping through iGive.com at
absolutely no
cost to you.
Every time you make a
purchase, 4% of your total goes to SHARK as a
donation!
Simply
CLICK HERE to shop at 100's of online
merchants through iGive.com.
Your donations are always greatly needed and
appreciated.
You can be assured that every dollar you donate goes
toward
SHARK's work to defend animals and investigate and
expose
cruelty. Donations to SHARK are tax-deductible.
To Donate:
Click
here to mail in a
donation.
Click Here to Donate Via
PayPal.
Kindest Regards,
Steve Hindi and Your SHARK Team
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