March 8, 2005: Headlines: COS - Swaziland: NGO's: Animal Rights: US Newswire: "The harp seal migration is one of the earth's last great wildlife spectacles," IFAW President Fred O'Regan said. "The herd should be respected as a global treasure, not slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands out for the sake of obtaining a luxury item."
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March 8, 2005: Headlines: COS - Swaziland: NGO's: Animal Rights: US Newswire: "The harp seal migration is one of the earth's last great wildlife spectacles," IFAW President Fred O'Regan said. "The herd should be respected as a global treasure, not slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands out for the sake of obtaining a luxury item."
"The harp seal migration is one of the earth's last great wildlife spectacles," IFAW President Fred O'Regan said. "The herd should be respected as a global treasure, not slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands out for the sake of obtaining a luxury item."
"The harp seal migration is one of the earth's last great wildlife spectacles," IFAW President Fred O'Regan said. "The herd should be respected as a global treasure, not slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands out for the sake of obtaining a luxury item."
One of Nature's Great Wonders: Annual Birth of Seal Pups off Coast of Eastern Canada
3/8/2005 9:02:00 AM
To: National Desk, Environment Reporter
Contact: Chris Cutter of International Fund for Animal Welfare, 508-737-4623 or ccutter@ifaw.org
CHARLOTTETOWN, Canada, March 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- One of the wonders of the natural world - the annual birth of thousands of baby harp seals - is now underway on the pristine ice floes off Eastern Canada, according to IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare – http://www.ifaw.org ).
Each winter, the entire northwest Atlantic harp seal population migrates to the east coast of Canada to give birth and mate. Unfortunately, the window for enjoying this spectacular phenomenon is short. Canadians will begin hunting hundreds of thousands of the baby seals in just a few weeks.
"The harp seal migration is one of the earth's last great wildlife spectacles," IFAW President Fred O'Regan said. "The herd should be respected as a global treasure, not slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands out for the sake of obtaining a luxury item."
From late February to mid-March, female harp seals congregate on the frozen ocean off Canada's east coast. Each female gives birth to a single pup. Pups are nursed for about 12 days and then weaned abruptly, at which time they begin to moult their fluffy white coat. Once a baby seal begins to moult it can be legally hunted in Canada.
More seals are killed today than were during the 1950s and 60s when overhunting significantly reduced the seal population. This year, up to 319,500 seals will be killed.
Modern sealing boats are large enough to accommodate several snowmobiles, which are used to access a greater area of ice and to haul the pelts back to the boat. Some boats even have a helicopter for spotting herds of seals on the barren ice.
"Opposition to this hunt is really a clash of values, between those who place an economic value on a seal those who value protecting wildlife for future generations," O'Regan said. "The annual birth of seals is an awe inspiring spectacle unique to Canada and should be a source of pride for Canadians. However, instead of protecting the seals, the Canadian government is directly supporting a needless and vicious cull." ------
About IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare):
IFAW was founded in 1969 to end the Canadian baby seal hunt. Over the next two decades, IFAW won many hard fought victories for seals, including the 1982 European Union ban of whitecoat and blueback sealskins. These aggregate victories almost stopped the baby seal hunt in the 1980s. Three years ago the seal hunt returned to levels unseen in decades and it is bigger than ever. To learn how to help IFAW protect seals, visit http://www.ifaw.org
When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
 | The Peace Corps Library
Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state. |
 | RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC
RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter. |
 | March 1: National Day of Action
Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went. |
 | Coates Redmon, Peace Corps Chronicler
Coates Redmon, a staffer in Sargent Shriver's Peace Corps, died February 22 in Washington, DC. Her book "Come as You Are" is considered to be one of the finest (and most entertaining) recountings of the birth of the Peace Corps and how it was literally thrown together in a matter of weeks. If you want to know what it felt like to be young and idealistic in the 1960's, get an out-of-print copy. We honor her memory. |
 | Make a call for the Peace Corps
PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week. |
 | Peace Corps Calendar: Tempest in a Teapot?
Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments. |
 | WWII participants became RPCVs
Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service. |
 | Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps
The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress. |
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Story Source: US Newswire
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Swaziland; NGO's; Animal Rights
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