Casinos and Restaurants Join HSUS' Boycott of Canadian Seafood to Help Stop Canadian Seal Hunt
WASHINGTON - Restaurants, including a number of casinos in Las Vegas and California, are helping to end the annual slaughter of seals in Canada by signing on to The Humane Society of the United States' Canadian seafood boycott. Green Valley Ranch, N9NE Steakhouse, Nero's, Siena Hotel Spa and Casino and the Stratosphere Hotel Tower in Las Vegas as well as Casino Pauma and Ocean's Eleven in southern California are among latest to make their voices heard. Also new to the boycott are additional restaurants in Canada, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oregon, Texas and Vermont, as well as a major seafood distributor, Fish King Seafood Company in California.
The HSUS launched the seafood boycott in March 2005 and asks consumers, restaurants and other businesses to avoid Canadian seafood as a way of ending the annual seal hunt. Seal hunting is an off-season activity conducted by commercial fishermen from Canada's East Coast, and by boycotting Canadian seafood, The HSUS hopes to stop the seal hunt. The boycott will stop when the seal hunt ends.
"Neither Canada's fishing industry nor the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans need to be reminded that a lot of seafood from Eastern Canada-particularly a lot of snow crab – ends up in seafood buffets at casinos and in seaside towns," said Patricia Ragan, director of the ProtectSeals Campaign. "We are thankful that so many of these businesses are stepping up for the seals and are signing on to our boycott."
For more information, visit www.protectseals.org .
Facts About the Seal Hunt:
- Canada's commercial seal hunt is the world's largest slaughter of marine mammals, with more than one million seals killed in the past three years.
- Well over 95 percent of the seals killed each year are under 3 months old.
- Sealers are fishermen who earn on average less than 5 percent of their total income from killing seals and the rest from commercial fisheries such as snow crabs and shrimp.
Facts About the Boycott:
- To date, over 2,000 restaurants, grocery stores and other seafood distributors have taken a stand against Canada's seal hunt.
- Other campaign participants include Legal Sea Foods, Whole Foods Markets, Wild Oats Markets and Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafes.
- Over 340,000 individuals have signed the pledge to reduce or end their Canadian seafood purchases.
- Many companies and individuals choose to boycott Canadian snow crabs as they account for half the landed value of the fishing industry of Newfoundland - the province where almost all sealers reside and where the annual hunt takes place.
- Since the start of the boycott, Canadian government trade statistics reveal that Canadian exports of snow crabs to the United States have dropped by over $350 million CDN, representing a 36 percent decline compared to pre-boycott levels.
List of new locations joining boycott:
Fellini, Berkeley, Calif.
Casino Pauma, Pauma Valley, Calif.
Commerce Casino, Commerce, Calif.
Ocean's Eleven, Oceanside, Calif.
Southern Belles Catering, Ontario, Canada
Arturo's Restaurants, Boca Raton, Fla.
Palme d'or Restaurant, Coral Gables, Fla.
Athena By The Sea, Lauderdale by the Sea, Fla.
Baleen Restaurant, Miami, Fla.
Escopazzo, Miami, Fla.
Bice Ristorante, Palm Beach, Fla.
Capri Blue Ristorante Italiano, Palm Beach, Fla.
Grotto on State, Chicago, Ill.
Half Shell, Chicago, Ill.
Les Nomades, Chicago, Ill.
Oceanique, Evanston, Ill.
Raw Bar & Grill, Chicago, Ill.
Riva Navy Pier, Chicago, Ill.
Tavern on Rush, Chicago, Ill.
The Landmark Grill and Lounge, Chicago, Ill.
The Grill on the Alley, Chicago, Ill.
The White Hall Hotel, Chicago, Ill.
Wheeling, Wheeling, Ill.
Azure, Boston, Mass.
Cambridge Common, Boston, Mass.
Christopher's Restaurant, Boston, Mass.
The Red Fez, Boston, Mass.
West Side Lounge, Boston, Mass.
Koyi Sushi, Minneapolis, Minn.
Market Bar-B-Que, Minneapolis, Minn.
New Delhi Bar & Restaurant, Minneapolis, Minn.
Rosen's City Tavern, Minneapolis, Minn.
Salsa ala Salsa, Minneapolis, Minn.
Tensuke Sushi, Minneapolis, Minn.
The Oven Indian Cuisine, Lincoln, Neb.
Vincenzo's Ristorante, Lincoln, Neb.
T-Bones Grillhouse, Omaha, Neb.
Vincenzo's Ristorante, Omaha, Neb.
Owl's Nest, Campton, N.H.
The Galley Hatch, Hampton, N.H.
Manhattan on Pearl, Nashua, N.H.
Green Valley Ranch, Las Vegas, Nev.
N9NE Steakhouse, Las Vegas, Nev.
Nero's, Las Vegas, Nev.
Siena Hotel Spa & Casino, Reno, Nev.
Stratosphere Hotel Tower, Las Vegas, Nev.
23 Hoyt Restaurant & Bar, Portland, Ore.
D.F. Restaurant, Portland, Ore.
Fratelli, Portland, Ore.
Patanegra, Portland, Ore.
One Dragon Restaurant, Houston, Texas
Mountain Top Inn, Chittendon, Vt.
Inn at West View Farm, Dorset, Vt.
Cedar's Restaurant, Killington, Vt.
Four Columns Inn, Newfane, Vt.
Kitchen Table Bistro, Richmond, Vt.
Restaurant Swisspot, Stowe, Vt.
The Inn at Weston, Weston, Vt.
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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization – backed by 10 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty -- On the web at www.humanesociety.org.
