Russia has stated it will end its annual slaughter of 35,000 seals. The Country has now stopped killing very young seals (whitecoats) and has pledged to protect older seals too.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called the hunt a “bloody industry” and said “it is clear that our hunt should have been banned a long time ago.”

Yury Trutnyev, Russia’s Natural Resources Minister has called seal hunting “one of the most inhumane types of hunting in the world, which is banned in the vast majority of developed states.”
SPAG is campaigning to end the commercial slaughter of seals worldwide and is calling for a comprehensive ban on trade in all seal products within the European Union.

Earlier this month, an influential EU committee voted in favour of a ban on trade and rejected proposals for a labelling scheme that would have allowed trade to continue.

However, as Russia is a major importer of Canadian seal pelts, SPAG is calling on President Putin to also ban imports of seal products. If he does, this would be another huge blow to the Canadian sealers and help put a final end to the hunt of 300,000 seals a year in Canada, the world’s largest slaughter of marine mammals.

“This is fantastic news and yet another massive blow to the global sealing industry that profits from the appalling suffering inflicted upon these defenceless creatures worldwide” said Andy Ottaway, Campaign Director of SPAG, “however, there is much more needs to be done to protect all seals from cruel slaughter and we are determined to do so.”

The world’s second largest large seal hunt takes place in Namibia, seal hunts also take place in Norway, Greenland and the UK.

In the UK, an estimated 5,000 seals are deliberately killed in Scottish waters alone each year, by salmon farming and angling interests. Recently scientists reported a ‘frightening’ decline in the number of common seals around the UK coast.

SPAG is calling on the Scottish and UK Governments to create effective legislation to provide seals with the full protection they deserve. Please click here for further details about our ‘Saving Scotland’s Seals campaign and how you can help.

Please help SPAG to protect seals by:

Tags: Canadian seal hunt, Russia's seal hunt, Vladimir Putin, Yury Trutnyev

SPAG and our sister organisation Campaign Whale will have a stall at the first ever Brighton Vegan Fayre on Saturday 21st March 2009. The show will open at 11am and close at 7pm.

The fayre, will have over 120 stall holders, including organisations such as the Redwood Company, Infinity Foods, Bourgeois Boheme and Beyond Skin. Many organisations will be offering discounts on their vegan goodies as well as free food samples.

Entertainment will come from up-and-coming London bands; The King Blues and SohoDolls, plus a solo appearance from Mark of ‘The Levellers’.

Please come and visit us at stall number 177, where we will have wonderful video footage of seals; petitions, activities for children and a raffle! ‘Lush’ has kindly donated some of their vegan beauty goodies for a raffle prize, and renowned vegetarian chef, Rose Elliot, has also donated a signed copy of her ‘Vegan Feast’
cookery book.

Talking about her support for SPAG, Rose Elliot has said:

“It breaks my heart to know of the suffering and slaughter of these beautiful, harmless creatures. I am so thankful that the Seal Protection Action Group is working so hard to publicise their plight and bring them the protection they need. Please join me in supporting them.”

Please help SPAG to protect seals by:

Tags: Brighton Vegan Fayre, Levellers, Lush, Rose Elliot, Vegan Feast

On Monday 2nd March, the European Parliamentary Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, voted in favour of a comprehensive ban on trade in all seal products. This is a vital step in our campaign to see a complete ban on the import of seal products into the European Union.

The Seal Protection Action Group (SPAG) is delighted with this decision. SPAG has been actively campaigning for the ban, and we lobbied key Committee members before the vote urging them to support a complete ban and to reject a proposed seal product labeling scheme instead. The labeling scheme would have allowed seal imports to continue from countries that kill seals provided they met strict guidelines intended to make the killing of seals more humane.

In January, the Canadian Government, that sanctions the world’s largest seal cull, announced changes in domestic killing regulations in an attempt to make the Canadian cull appear more humane and so allow the seal trade to continue.

The European Parliamentary Committee’s vote sets a clear mandate to the European Commission that a comprehensive ban on trade must be adopted.

“A comprehensive ban on trade in seal products within the European Union will be a massive blow to the seal killers that profit from appalling cruelty to defenseless animals” said Andy Ottaway, Campaign Director of SPAG, “However, we still have a lot of work to do to greater protect the hundreds of thousands seals still being slaughtered  worldwide”.

In addition to the massive Canadian seal cull, where over 300,000 seals are clubbed and shot each year, large scale seal hunts also take place in countries such as Namibia, Norway, Russia, Greenland and the UK.

In the UK, an estimated 5,000 seals are deliberately killed in Scottish waters alone each year, by salmon farming and angling interests. Although the UK Government is supporting an EU ban on all seal product imports, SPAG is concerned at the woefully inadequate protection afforded to the UK’s globally important populations of common and grey seals.

SPAG is working hard to protect the hundreds of thousands of seals being persecuted worldwide. For further details about our campaigns and how you can get involved, please click here.

PRESS ENQUIRIES: Please click here to contact us for further information

You can also help SPAG to protect seals by:

Tags: Canadian seal hunt, EU seal trade ban, protect seals

Labour MP Paddy Tipping is backing our ‘Saving Scotland’s Seals’ campaign by tabling a Parliamentary Early Day Motion (EDM) below, co-sponsored by Conservative MP David Amess:

EDM 678: Protection for seals – That this House recognises the UK’s international obligations to maintain its globally important seal populations at a favourable conservation status; notes that seal populations remain depleted and are threatened by further outbreaks of the phocine distemper virus and remain under increasing threat from climate change, depletion of prey species pollution and deliberate killing; notes with extreme concern scientific reports of a frightening decline in the population of common seals in UK waters; further notes that an estimated 5,000 seals are shot in Scottish waters by the salmon industry; believes that the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 is outdated and in urgent need of review or replacement; and calls on the Government to implement an immediate and comprehensive ban on the deliberate killing of all seals, to replace the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 with legislation for the comprehensive protection of seals in the forthcoming Marine Bill and to liaise with the Scottish Executive to this end.

Mr Tipping said:

““It makes no sense to be shooting seals however much of a threat they might occasionally be to fish farms. When you have a population that looks as though it is going through a terminal collapse measures must be taken to stop that.”

SPAG is calling on the public to contact their MP’s asking them to support Paddy Tipping’s EDM.

The easiest way to contact your MP is by visiting www.writetothem.com. Once on the site, search for your MP using your post code and then simply send a message using the box provided.

For information about our campaign to protect seals in the UK and how you can help – please click here.

PRESS ENQUIRIES: Please click here to contact us for further information

You can also help SPAG protect our seals by:

Tags: David Amess, EDM 678, Paddy Tipping, protect seals, Protection for Seals, seal protection

The Seal Protection Action Group’s campaigns to protect seals are being backed by a range of celebrities including musicians, models, actresses and authors.

The latest celebrities to offer their support include author Julia Stephenson, model and actress Melita Morgan and up and coming social action rock band ‘Truth on Earth’

Talking about their support, the celebrities have said:

“I was horrified to learn that thousands of seals are deliberately killed in UK waters alone every year. I am 100% behind the Seal Protection Action Group’s campaign to give our seals, and seals around the world, the protection they deserve and so desperately need. Please support their vital work to stop the cruel slaughter of seals before it is too late”

Julia Stephenson, Author, Journalist and Green Party Activist

“I fully support The Seal Protection Action Group’s campaign, in regards to the barbaric and heartless methods of slaughter inflicted upon seals in the UK waters and countless others around the world.

It causes me great pain to know I live in a world where man can inflict such pain and suffering to such beautiful animals.

I try to see the needs of man and animal, if man really needs to end the lives of these pure souls, I would like to make my plea on behalf of the world that he should use the knowledge and means to end life with dignity and peace…and MAN YOU HAVE THAT KNOWLEDGE, evolution has given you that, let it not be wasted for the greater good of the worlds animals and humanity alike.

I wish to commend highly the work of the Seal Protection Action Group for its work, especially its great efforts it gives in educating the world of these cruel practices, without you these animals have no voice”

Melita Morgan, Model and Actress

“The incredible source of inspiration and methods of SPAG have improved the quality of lives of thousandsof seals.  Without SPAG’s commitment and dedication, the world would not be educated about the immense cruelty and suffering these voiceless creatures are forced to endure by selfless cowards. We fully support all of the hard work SPAG does and their important effort in raising awareness about seal and animal cruelty when so many others are satisfied with the status quo.”

Serena, Kiley and Tess from Social Action Rock Band, Truth On Earth

For further details about who else supports the work of SPAG, please click here.

You too can also help SPAG protect our seals by:

Tags: Celebrities protecting seals, Julia Stephenson, Melita Morgan, Truth On Earth

Scottish Green Party leader Robin Harper is backing our ‘Saving Scotland’s Seals’ campaign by tabling the Motion below with the Scottish Parliament.

*S3M-3167 Robin Harper: Protection for Seals—That the Parliament calls on the Scottish Government to recognise the threat to the seal population in Scottish waters from disease, climate change and shooting; particularly notes the recent dramatic and unexplained reduction in the population of common seals; also notes that processes for reporting and recording of seal deaths by shooting are not consistent or accurate, and therefore calls for an immediate ban on the shooting of common seals and a commitment from government to replace the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 with a much firmer commitment to seal protection in the forthcoming Marine Bill.

(Source: Scottish Parliament web site)

Mr Harper said:

“This decline in common seal numbers is extremely alarming. They are an iconic symbol of Scottish marine life, but they are also at the top of the food chain and provide us with strong indicators of the health of the marine environment.”

SPAG is calling on the Scottish public to contact their MSP’s asking them to support Robin Harpers Motion.

The easiest way to contact your MSP is by visiting www.writetothem.com. Once on the site, search for your MP using your post code and then simply send a message using the box provided.

For information about our campaign to protect seals in the UK and how you can help – please click here.

PRESS ENQUIRIES: Please click here to contact us for further information

You can also help SPAG protect our seals by:

Tags: Conservation of Seals Act 1970, decline of common seals, Marine Bill., Protection for Seals, Robin Harper, S3M-3167, Saving Scottish Seals, Scottish Green Party, seal protection

The Canadian Government has proposed new regulations governing the country’s annual mass cull of around 350,000 seals which begins again this March. The new regulations have been introduced in an attempt to make the hunt appear more humane, with the threat of a European Community ban on all seal products an increasing possibility this year.

However, the Seal Protection Action Group (SPAG) does not believe that the proposed minor changes to killing methods will do anything to change the public’s perceptions of the Canadian seal hunt, or the organisations determination to stop it.

One measure proposes to ban the use the spiked club or ‘hakapik’ to kill seals over a year old unless they have been shot first.  However, with less than one percent of seals killed more than a year old, this restriction will make little difference. The use of the hakapik has led to persistent allegations that many seal pups may still be conscious after clubbing and are thus consequently skinned alive.

Around 90% of seals killed are shot, many in the water that have to be gaffed and hauled aboard the sealing boats causing untold suffering. Under the new proposals the sealers will have to ensure the skull is broken and the animals are bled for a full minute before they can begin to skin them.

Andy Ottaway, Campaign Director of SPAG has said:

“Tweaking the regulations on killing methods will do nothing to diminish public anger and revulsion at this brutal and cruel hunt. Hundreds of thousands of seal pups will still be shot, gaffed and clubbed, with many animals still skinned alive, and that is totally unacceptable in a civilized and compassionate world”.

The Canadian seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine mammals in the world with an average of between 270,000-335,000 seals annually. The seals are killed primarily for their fur, but other products such as seal oil is sold increasingly as a ‘health supplement’. However, SPAG believes that the high levels of industrial contaminants such as PCB’s and mercury, which build up in the blubber of marine mammals such as whales and seals, poses a serious risk to human health.

The Seal Protection Action Group has been campaigning for a comprehensive EU import ban on all seal products for several years. Unfortunately, although a ban is increasingly likely this year, there is increasing concern that under current proposals seal imports will still be permitted from hunts that meet set criteria for humane killing. However, monitoring and enforcing any standards would be extremely difficult if not impossible.

Andy Ottaway of SPAG has said:

“The Canadian seal hunt is a hideously cruel, environmental atrocity and nothing the Canadian Government can do will alter that fact other than ending it once and for all. The damage it does to Canada’s image and reputation is incalculable”

Although the UK Government is supporting an EU ban on all seal product imports, SPAG is concerned over the woefully inadequate protection afforded to the UK’s globally important populations of common and grey seals. An estimated 5,000 seals are shot in Scottish waters alone each year by the Scottish salmon industry with scientists recently reporting a ‘frightening’ decline in common seals.

PRESS ENQUIRIES: Please click here to download the official Media Release

For further information about our campaign to protect seals in Canada and how you can help – please click here.

For information about our campaign to protect seals in the UK and how you can help – please click here.

Please help SPAG to protect seals by:

Tags: Canadian seal hunt, decline of common seals, EU importn ban on seal products, hakapik, harp seals, seal cull

The two fishermen charged with the deaths of 21 grey seal pups on the small island of East Linga in the Shetland Islands have now appeared in court.

John George Eunson, aged 44, of Seefeld, Symbister, Whalsay, and 47 year old Jimmy Stewart, of Ellies Knowe, Saltness, Symbister, Whalsay, have been charged with mutilating, beating and crushing and willfully killing 21 grey seals with intent to cause unnecessary suffering under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act.

Both men have also been charged under the Conservation of Seals Act (1970) for killing seals during the closed breeding season, between 1st September and 31st December, when grey seals are nursing their newborn pups.

The Seal Protection Action Group is campaigning to get the The Conservation of Seals Act (CSA 1970) replaced with effective legislation that actually protects seals from deliberate killing. The CSA provides little more than a licence to kill grey and common seals, except during their respective breeding seasons, because : fishing interests, notably salmon farmers, netsmen and sport anglers can shoot seals perfectly legally to prevent damage to their equipment or stock.
To date there has only ever been one successful prosecution under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, and this related to the use of a shotgun, rather than a rifle, to kill three seals. Over the years there have been numerous illegal seal killing incidents around the Scottish coast, some of which the police have investigated, though no charges have been brought against offenders.

It is estimated that up to 5,000 seals are killed in Scottish waters each year by salmon farm and fisheries interests. Recently scientists have reported that there has been a ‘frightening’ decline in common (harbour) seals in Scotland and England. It is not yet clear if grey seals have been affected.

The two men arrested over the horrific grey seal pup slaughter made no plea when they appeared in the dock. They have also been excused from appearing in court when the case is recalled on 15 January after one of the defendants said he would be sea fishing on that date.
Andy Ottaway of the Seal protection Action Group said:

“This appalling case highlights they need for a fundamental change in attitude, and the law, for our globally important common and grey seal populations. Our seals are disappearing and this culture of killing seals must be stopped. Our seals must be fully protected under law from any deliberate killing before it is too late”

At the Seal protection Action Group we are campaigning to create, effective legislation to provide seals with the full protection they deserve. On Tuesday 16th December, representatives from the Seal Protection Action Group along with a delegation of MP’s visited 10 Downing Street to hand in a letter signed by 27 leading animal welfare and conservation organisations asking for an immediate and comprehensive ban on the deliberate killing of all seals in UK waters, including Scottish waters.

Andy Ottaway of the Seal Protection Action Group has a message for the public:

“Until the governments protect our seals as they surely must, we are calling on the public to avoid Scottish salmon unless they can be assured that no seals have been killed. We know that the public support our view that dead seals is too high a price to pay for Scottish salmon”

PRESS ENQUIRIES:Please click here to download the official Media Release

For further details about our campaign to protect seals in the UK please click here to be redirected to our ‘Saving Scotland’s Seals’ campaign.

Take Action – Please help protect seals!

In order for our campaign to be successful we need your help, please consider:

Tags: Conservation of Seals Act, grey seal pups, killing seals, Scotland, seal protection, Shetland seal pup slaughter

Yesterday (Tuesday 16th December) Liberal Democratic MP for Lewes ‘Norman Baker’ and Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent South ‘Robert Flello’ joined us at 10 Downing Street demanding a ‘CEASEFIRE FOR SEALS’.

Andy Ottaway of the Seal Protection Action Group along with representatives from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue and the Cornwall Seal Group handed in a letter to the Prime Minister asking him for an immediate and comprehensive ban on the deliberate killing of all seals in UK waters, including Scottish waters.

Under current laws, which are almost 40 years old, fishing interests, including salmon farmers, can shoot seals to prevent supposed damage to their stock. Recent studies show that total numbers of seals in the UK declined by 12% last year, and an estimated 5,000 are shot each year in Scottish waters alone.

Talking about his support for our Saving Scotland’s Seals campaign, Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, Norman Baker said:

“It is disgraceful that so many seals are still subject to this annual slaughter. The current legislation is woefully outdated and it is vitally important that we immediately amend the law so that seals get the protection they deserve. The government must act.”

PRESS ENQUIRIES: PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL MEDIA RELEASE

For further details about our campaign to protect seals in the UK please click here to be redirected to our ‘Saving Scotland’s Seals’ campaign.

Take Action – Please help protect seals!

In order for our campaign to be successful we need your help, please consider:

Tags: 10 Downing Street, British Divers Marine Life Rescue, Ceasefire for seals, Cornwall Seal Group, Norman Baker, Robert Flello

A delegation of MPs will be supporting us at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday 16th December as we call on Prime Minister Gordon Brown asking him for an immediate and comprehensive ban on the deliberate killing of all seals in UK waters, including Scottish waters.

An estimated 5,000 seals are shot in Scottish waters alone each year by salmon farmers and other fisheries interests. (Click here for further information on the persecution of seals in the UK)

During the event on Tuesday we will be unfurling a banner which demands a ‘CEASEFIRE FOR SEALS!’ Joining us will be Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker, Conservative MP David Amess and Labour MP Robert Flello.

Talking about his support for our campaign Rob Flello MP for Stoke-on-Trent South has said:

“It’s a disgrace that seals are still tragically slaughtered in parts of the UK and it needs to end.  There can be no excuse for such barbaric practices and I support the calls to ban this practice and restore the rapidly declining numbers of our common seals.”

During the event on Tuesday SPAG Campaign Director Andy Ottaway will be handing in a letter address to Prime Minister Gordon Brown calling for greater protection for our globally important seal populations. The same letter which has been signed by 28 leading conservation and animal welfare charities was also handed in to the Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond on Tuesday 24th November.

Campaign Director Andy Ottaway at SPAG has stated:

“We are calling on the British and Scottish Governments to introduce emergency measures to fully protect all our seals from any deliberate killing and to replace outdated legislation with a Protection of Seals Act as quickly as possible. We are also calling on the public to avoid Scottish salmon unless they can be assured that no seals have been killed. Dead seals are too high a price to pay for Scottish salmon”.

PRESS ENQUIRIES: PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL MEDIA RELEASE

Take Action – Please help protect seals!

For further details about our campaign to protect seals in the UK please click here to be redirected to our ‘Saving Scotland’s Seals’ campaign.

In order for our campaign to be successful we need your help, please consider:

Tags: Ceasefire for seals, David Amess, Norman Baker, Robert Flello