However, our voices are being heard. A friend of mine took one step further after I asked her to sign the online petition supporting the ban on seal hunts. She wrote to Connecticut's state senator Joseph Lieberman and received the following reply:
Dear Mrs. Hunt:
Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to the Canadian commercial seal hunt. I share your opinion regarding this practice.
The commercial seal hunt was first highlighted in the early 1970s when groups around the world protested the brutal slaying of young harp seals that are prized for their white fur. In 1972, the United States banned importation of all seal products under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The European community issued a temporary
ban on the importation of the "whitecoat" and "blueback" sealskin in
1983. A permanent ban was imposed in 1989. The American and European bans, combined with low demand, led to a steady decline in the number of harp seals killed over a 15-year period starting in 1989. In 1993, the Canadian government amended its regulations with regard to "whitecoats" and "bluebacks." Harp seals can now be legally killed in Canada once they shed their white fur, which takes place approximately twelve days after birth.
In February 2003, the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada authorized the highest quota for harp seals in Canadian history, allowing nearly one million seals to be killed over a three-year period; and, as a result, over one million seals were killed during that time. Canada officially opened another seal hunt on November 15,
2006, paving the way for hundreds of thousands of baby seals to be killed for
their fur during the spring of 2007.
The Humane Society of the United States, parliamentarians, journalists, and scientists, who observe Canada's commercial seal hunt each year, continue to report unacceptable levels of cruelty, including sealers dragging conscious seals across the ice floes with boat hooks, shooting seals and leaving them to suffer in agony, stockpiling dead and dying animals, and even skinning seals alive. These facts certainly seem contrary to both sound economic policy and humane ecological stewardship.
That is why I will support S.Res.84, introduced by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), which urges the Canadian government to halt the commercial seal hunt. To keep track of future actions on this legislation, you can go to the "Bill Tracking" service at http://lieberman.senate.gov/issues/resources.
Please know that I have consistently supported legislation that seeks to end the abuse of animals in all types of situations, and I will continue to press for more sensible regulations to help rectify this situation. However, as an elected representative of the U.S. government, I have no jurisdiction over laws affecting Canadian environmental and animal protection policies. I encourage you to join me in spreading awareness about this troubling matter.
Thank you again for sharing your views and concerns with me. I hope you will continue to visit my website at http://lieberman.senate.gov for updated news about my work on behalf of Connecticut and the nation. Please contact me if you have any additional questions or comments about our work in Congress.
Sincerely,
Joseph I. Lieberman
UNITED STATES SENATOR
This detailed response shows that our opinions do matter and are heard by government officials. The more we write and blog about issues that mean the most to us, the closer we get to achieving our goals. As for the seals, I am going to follow in Diane's footsteps and write to my state officials. It is my hope that our cries of opposition toward the seal hunts would eventually result in the elimination of scenes like this...
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