Georges Laraque urges Canadian PM to stop the seal hunt

For those of you who have visited Habs’ tough guy Georges Laraque’s website, you are likely well aware of his devotion to PETA.

Georges Laraque at a Peta/Earthlings protest May 3 in Montreal

Yesterday Mr. Laraque appealed to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to stop the annual seal hunt.

The letter is in it’s entirety below.

Please keep in mind that the content is strictly the comments of Mr. Laraque on his and PETA’s behalf and do not express my own personal opinions.

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June 17, 2009

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper

Office of the Prime Minister

Dear Mr. Prime Minister:

Blood on the ice is fine when it comes to Canada’s national sport because players are willing participants, but the blood of helpless baby seals that stains the ice each year is Canada’s shame.

I’m writing to you on behalf of my friends at PETA and its more than 2 million members and supporters around the world dedicated to the protection of animals.

With the world’s attention focused on the 2010 Winter Olympics, Canada has an opportunity to show the world its best features, including its breathtaking natural beauty, its bustling cities, and its rich culture.

However, the one thing about Canada that I’m not proud of is the annual seal slaughter. Won’t you please consider ending this tragic war on seals?

Every year, sealers kill hundreds of thousands of baby seals, and every year, our country hears the international outcry against this barbaric slaughter.

Surely you would agree that there is something terribly wrong with shooting baby seals or crushing their skulls and skinning the defenceless pups for the sake of fashion.

Hooking is illegal in the National Hockey League, but sealers routinely hook live seals in the eye or cheek to avoid damaging their fur.

Not only is the unimaginable pain and suffering endured by these seals tragic, it is also completely unnecessary. Sealing is primarily an off-season profit venture for commercial fishers, not a subsistence trade for native peoples.

Inuit seal hunting accounts for only about 3 percent of the slaughter.
The international outcry against the slaughter is loud and clear.

The U.S. banned all seal imports in 1972, the European Union recently passed a ban on the importation of seal products to member countries, the U.S. senate unanimously passed a resolution urging Canada to end the slaughter, Russia recently ended its slaughter of seals under 1 year of age, and even Vladimir Putin, who has been known to hunt bears, has condemned the seal slaughter as a bloody business that should have ended years ago.

Please count me among the majority of Canadians who oppose the seal slaughter and are hoping for a permanent ban on this, the largest and most barbaric massacre of marine mammals on Earth.
Thank you for recognizing the urgency of this issue.

Sincerely,

Georges Laraque

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