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March 11, 2013

Canadian Seafood Boycott Highlights

Stopping the commercial seal hunt: strategy and progress

Each year, the Canadian government authorizes the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of seal pups. The HSUS's Protect Seals campaign is working internationally to end this cruel and needless hunt.

Protect Seals is focused on pressing Canada's commercial fishing industry and its government to end the commercial seal hunt. You are an important part of this tactic.

Seal hunting is an off-season activity of a few thousand fishermen from Canada's east coast. They make, on average, about 5 percent of their income from sealing, and the rest from commercial fisheries. Roughly two-thirds of Canadian seafood exports go to the United States each year.

Canada's sealers make much more money from exporting seafood to the U.S. than they do from killing seal pups, and this gives us a lever.

Individuals, sign the boycott pledge »

 

Chefs, restaurants, and businesses, sign the boycott pledge »

Through the boycott of Canadian seafood, The HSUS and our supporters are sending a clear message to Canada's fishing industry. If the industry would like open access to our market, it needs to stop the commercial seal hunt.

To date, more than 750,000 individuals and more than 5,500 grocery stores, restaurants, casinos, and seafood suppliers in the United States have joined the seafood boycott.

Boycott participants

Mario Batali, Cat Cora, Kerry Simon, and hundreds of other chefs are joined by compassionate companies, including:

• Battleground Restaurant Group
• BI-LO Supermarkets
• Bon Appétit Management Company
• China Grill Management Group
• Fireman Hospitality Group
• The Forgeois Group
• Gotham City Restaurant Group
• Harris Teeter
• Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafés
• Legal Sea Foods
• Lowe’s Foods
• McGrath’s Fish House
• Patina Restaurant Group
• Ted Turner’s Ted’s Montana Grill
• The Venetian and Palazzo Resorts
• The Old Spaghetti Factory Restaurants
• Trader Joe’s
• Whole Foods
• WinCo Foods

All chefs and companies participating in the Protect Seals campaign have pledged to avoid some or all Canadian seafood until Canadian fishermen from Canada's east coast stop—once and for all—the commercial seal hunt.

Chefs, restaurants, and businesses, sign the boycott pledge »

 

Individuals, sign the boycott pledge »

Get fast facts about Canada's commercial seal slaughter, or contact Kathryn Kullberg by email or at 301-258-3109 with questions.