LOCAL ACTIVISTS JOIN NATIONAL BOYCOTT OF SEAFOOD GIANT
Call on Company to Halt Sales of Canadian Seafood to End Cruel Seal Hunt

San Francisco - Local members of In Defense of Animals (IDA) will join HarpSeals.org and animal protection groups across North America to urge Red Lobster restaurants to support an international boycott of Canadian seafood products. The Canadian seafood boycott is in response to the cruel and needless slaughter of baby harp and hooded seals in Canada.

When: Saturday, July 30, 12:00 noon-1:00 p.m.
Where: Red Lobster, 1210 El Camino Real, San Bruno

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) sent observers to this year’s hunt and documented the slaughter. This footage was reviewed by Mary Richardson, a Canadian veterinary expert in humane slaughter who stated, “Without a doubt, what I witnessed was clear evidence of unacceptable and illegal cruelty to animals.” Among other things, the videos show seals that have been battered with a club or hakapik and then left in anguish to slowly die. Some seals were skinned while still alive.

Sealing is an off-season activity conducted by commercial fishermen from Canada’s East Coast. Seventy percent of Canadian seafood is exported to the United States, producing $2.8 billion annually for the Canadian economy and making the industry a viable target for a boycott. 

“Hundreds of thousands of defenseless baby seals are violently clubbed or shot to death. After studying the commercial seal hunt a panel of international veterinarians concluded that up to 42 percent of the seals examined were likely skinned alive and conscious,” said IDA President Elliot M. Katz, DVM. “We hope that Red Lobster, the largest seafood restaurant chain in the U.S., will make the compassionate decision to stop selling any Canadian seafood until the hunt is cancelled permanently.” 

Whole Foods Market, Legal Sea Foods, Down East Seafood, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, and Spectrum Organics in the United States, and Marks and Spencer in the United Kingdom are some of the companies participating in the boycott of Canadian seafood.