Film Documented Canada's Cruel Seal Hunt
WASHINGTON—A documentary showing the slaughter of seals during the 2005 seal hunt in Canada has won a 'Panda' Award at the Wild Screen Film Festival in the United Kingdom. Staff videographers from The Humane Society of the United States, led by video director Kathy Milani, filmed and edited the video, titled Bearing Witness: Canada's 2005 Seal Hunt. The film won in the campaigns category.
The Wild Screen Festival is an international wildlife and environmental film festival and attracts entries from filmmakers worldwide. The festival celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2006.
Bearing Witness: Canada's 2005 Seal Hunt was filmed in late March – early April 2005 on the ice floes in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It follows Rebecca Aldworth, director of Canadian wildlife issues for The Humane Society of the United States, as she observes the annual commercial slaughter of young seals. Mother harp seals give birth to their babies atop the ice floes. When the babies are as young as 12-days-old, seal hunters kill the pups for their skins.
"A lot of people ask how I can go back and look at it each and every year that I do," says Aldworth in the film. "It's a horrific thing to look at, but I know that in going there and filming and observing, and telling the world what is happening on the ice floes, we can put an end to it."
The winning video may be viewed online: Bearing Witness: Canada's 2005 Seal Hunt.
With more than one million seals killed in the past three years alone, Canada's commercial seal hunt is the world's largest slaughter of marine mammals. Veterinary experts who have studied the seal hunt in recent years have concluded it results in "considerable and unacceptable suffering" and scientists argue current kill levels pose a threat to seal populations, particularly in light of the potential devastating impacts of climate change on these ice dependent animals.
"I've observed the seal hunt for the past eight years. And as hard as it is to watch these young animals meet such a brutal death before our eyes, I feel it's necessary to bring the truth of this hunt to people around the world," said Aldworth. "Just this week the Canadian government has said they want to place additional restrictions on those who wish to observe the annual hunt. As a Canadian citizen, I find this unacceptable."
Click here for more information on the Canadian seal hunt, or here to view footage from the 2006 hunt.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with nearly 10 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, marine mammals, animals in research, equine protection and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy and field work. The nonprofit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. On the web at www.hsus.org.
