by Kathryn Kullberg
Editor's note: For his efforts to save seals, Martin won the grand prize in Disney’s “Littlest Volunteers” contest in 2009. Congratulations!
Martin Welych-Flanagan and the rest of the students at The New School in Syracuse, N.Y., do more than just care about seals; they've taken action to help save them.
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Students get crafty to help save seals. © Anita Welych |
Martin, a third grader at the school, has loved harp seals since before kindergarten. When he recently learned that baby seals are cruelly killed in Canada for their fur, he decided he had to do something to stop the slaughter. Martin formed a 'Seal Savers' committee at his school.
The committee makes bracelets displaying messages like "Save a Seal" and sells them for $1 each. All their proceeds go to help The Humane Society of the United States end the seal hunt for good. Last month, Seal Savers donated $255.00 to The HSUS to help the seals.
"I'm not just selling bracelets and making money for the seals," said Martin. "At the same time I'm also making people aware of how cruel the seal hunt is."
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| Seal advocate Martin Welych-Flanagan (center) sells his wares. © Anita Welych |
Canada's commercial harp seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on Earth, where hundreds of thousands of seals (most under three months of age) are clubbed or shot to death for their fur.
Many of these animals have not yet had their first solid meal or learned to swim.
Martin's mother, Anita, admires Martin's passion.
"I'm so proud of him for channeling his love for living things into action. Through his enthusiasm and hard work he has inspired his classmates and teachers at The New School, as well as friends and strangers alike, into working to end the terrible baby harp seal hunt."
Martin plans on continuing his efforts and raising money for as long as he can until the seal hunt ends for good. Between a groundswell of individual action and governments worldwide taking a hard line on the slaughter (this summer, the European Commission adopted a proposal to ban trade in the seal products from cruel commercial hunts), Martin may not have that long to wait.
Good news for Martin—and seals
Apparently, Martin’s mom isn’t the only one who’s amazed. For his efforts to save the seals, Martin recently won the $5000 grand prize in Disney’s “Littlest Volunteers” contest. He plans to donate a portion of his prize winnings to The HSUS’s ongoing efforts to put an end to the seal hunt. That’s wonderful news for an outstanding young man—and for the seals.
Three Things You Can Do to Stop the Seal Hunt:
- Sign the pledge to boycott Canadian seafood.
- Call the Canadian embassy and politely tell them why they should stop the commercial seal hunt .
- Create a 'Seal Savers' group at your school and educate your classmates on what is going on in Canada and what they can do to help.
More actions to help seals in our Action Toolkit.
Updated June 8, 2009
