[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 31 (Tuesday, March 15, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S2730]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST SLAUGHTER OF SEALS

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, today there will be rallies in 50 cities 
across the world calling on the Canadian Government to stop the cruel 
and needless slaughter of seals. Animal protection and environmental 
groups in the U.S. and throughout the world have condemned Canada's 
increased seal hunt, which will allow sealers to kill over 300,000 baby 
seals this year alone. The hunt officially opened on Nov. 15, 2004, but 
the bulk of the killing will begin toward the end of March, after the 
babies have been born. They will be clubbed and shot mainly for their 
fur.
  A recent study was conducted by an independent team of veterinarians 
which found that the seal hunt failed to comply with basic animal 
welfare standards and that Canadian regulations with regard to humane 
killing were not being enforced. The study concluded that up to 42 
percent of the seals studied were likely skinned while alive and 
conscious. The United States has long banned imports of seal products 
because of widespread outrage over the magnitude and cruelty of the 
hunt.
  Our neighbor to the north is fortunate to have vast and diverse 
wildlife populations--animals that deserve protection, not senseless 
slaughter. Americans have a long history of defending marine mammals, 
best evidenced through our Marine Mammal Protection Act. Not 
surprisingly, recent polling shows close to 80 percent of American 
voters oppose Canada's seal hunt, and the majority of those surveyed 
are willing to make consumer choices that will help put a stop to the 
slaughter.
  On February 1, 2005, Senator Collins and I introduced a resolution, 
S. Res. 33, which urges the Government of Canada to end this senseless, 
inhumane slaughter. We are pleased that 18 of our colleagues in the 
Senate have cosponsored this resolution: Senators Lugar, Biden, 
Cantwell, Jeffords, Dodd, Durbin, Feinstein, Johnson, Lautenberg, 
Murray, Stabenow, Dorgan, Kennedy, Reed, Schumer, Wyden, Feingold and 
Boxer.

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