With little fanfare, Canada's Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans released a report this week on Wild Salmon in Eastern Canada. Between Trump and terror attacks, the report is unlikely to receive much media attention. But it is worth noting how despite Liberal promises of "Real Change" and...

A small victory for common sense and wildlife protection is being celebrated as the province of Quebec, Canada, rejected a proposal to slaughter 1,200 grey seals in Brion Island Nature Reserve under the pretext of "scientific research."

Sealers have reportedly been openly, and illegally,

(Photo: CP)

Occasionally a Private Members' Bill is introduced that is so immaterial, so irrelevant and inconsequential that it defies explanation or public interest. Bill S-208, An Act Respecting National Seal Products Day, appears to be such a bill.

Originally...

With sadness I read the news this week: the non-aboriginal seal hunt is set to open off the East Coast of Canada on April 10th. While the quota has yet to be announced, it is expected to remain at 400,000 harp seals, 60,000 grey seals and 8,200 hooded seals --...

The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO) released its annual report this week, and it levels some harsh criticism at the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), particularly regarding the province's recently-ended spring bear hunt pilot project.

Entitled "Small Things Matter" (and -- appropriately...

When we think about election issues, animal welfare is rarely top of mind. The economy, foreign policy, and the latest scandal receive far more media coverage and attention. Still, a survey conducted by Environics Research Group for the International Fund for Animal Welfare has found that a majority of Canadians...

An internal government memo obtained recently by the Blacklock's Reporter and marked "SECRET" confirms that there is no scientific link between grey seals and fish stocks, completely destroying Canada's claims that grey seals need to be culled to protect groundfish.

The 2015 memo to the Canadian Minister of...

In the past two weeks, the government of Canada has come under fire several times over its complete lack of effort when it comes to the protection of endangered species. The gap between what Canada says -- and what it actually does -- for conservation continues to widen, and it...

Celebrity Chef Anthony Bourdain had Twitter all a-flutter when he came out smacking his lips in support of the seal hunt. As so often happens when celebrities wade into unfamiliar issues, his tweets display a gross lack of understanding of Canada, its geography, its people, and its wildlife....

Things are starting to heat up for polar bears, in more ways than one. The United States, backed by the Russian Federation, has put forward what's turned out to be a controversial proposal to give polar bears greater protection by listing them on Appendix I of the Convention on International...

The Canadian Senate, our Senate, has just released its report on the "management" of grey seal populations on Canada's East Coast and recommends spending millions in taxpayer dollars on an "experiment" that is so incredibly flawed that, whatever the result, it will be entirely unreliable.

Without going...

In October 2011, the Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans was asked to undertake a study on the Management of Grey Seals in Atlantic Canada. A large part of what the Senate Committee is looking at is culling tens of thousands of grey seals, in addition to the currently...

Bill Maher wrote to interim Liberal leader Bob Rae expecting the Liberals to do better than the Conservatives in their blind support of Canada's commercial seal hunt. Sadly, the response was typical of what's usually seen from politicians: excuses and sad attempts to deflect from the issues at hand.

The...

In recent years, the IFAW Seal Team has witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of climate change on harp seal pups in eastern Canada, including dead seals on beaches, abandoned starving pups found on shore and whitecoat seals crushed to death in ice before they are strong enough to...

When cruelty is normal, protecting trade bans and fighting for seals is crucial

As the 2011 commercial seal hunt winds down in Canada, the issue is once again heating up in Europe. To add fuel to the fire, IFAW is releasing disturbing new video evidence proving that Canada's...