White Coats
Posted on March 6, 2009 - Filed Under Charity, HSUS, Modeling Q & A, NB Videos, Nigel Barker Today, Photography, Studio NB, Travel Shoots
As many of you already know, I am a spokesperson for the Humane Society of the United States’ Protect Seal Campaign. Last year I went up to the ice floes of Eastern Canada and filmed a documentary called “A Sealed fate?” and shot an exhibition of photographs documenting the birth and subsequent two weeks of life of the baby seals before they are subjected to one of the most brutal hunts in the world. Last year I was there for the whole two weeks including the hunt and you can view my previous blog entries in the archives.
Well although we have made some headway in ending the hunt it looks like it will take place again in a few weeks time. I was up on the ice again two days ago to witness the birth of the beautiful animals and encourage the people of Canada to abandon the hunt. My hope and that of the HSUS is that Canada will celebrate this extraordinary wildlife spectacle and invest in a growing eco-tourism industry. The European Union looks set to ban the import of all seal products which would of course strike a deadly blow to the seal hunt. If we work together we can make a difference. The inhumane death by clubbing and shooting must end and this unnecessary blemish on Canada’s reputation can be healed. I personally will not rest until the seals have won the right to life.
Please visit – http://www.hsus.org/protect_seals sign the pledge and boycott canadian seafood at restaurants and at supermarkets. If we can’t get them to see sense with graphic imagery of the hunt, we can take the economic argument to them. The US imports 100s of millions of dollars worth of seafood from Canada annually. The HSUS boycott of seafood supported by over 5000 businesses and restaurants has resulted in a 20 percent plus dip in profits. This should be effective as it is the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada that issues the sealing licenses and that is directly effected by the boycott. We implore them to offer the seal hunters a seal license buy out and we will happily end the boycott. Stay tuned for the latest from the ice………………
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12 Responses to “White Coats”
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Here is hoping that next year there will be no hunt! Many thanks to you and your team for all you have and continue to do for the cause!
the video in my website section is for a seal rally tomorrow in toronto! i hope to see you all there to support what’s right!
I had the privelage to attend your exhibition Sealed Fate in NYC this summer.We were actually there on your opening afternoon and I have to tell you that we were so extremely touched by your compassion.I am elated that someone else is an angelic force for these little innocent creatures.I am certain that my nightly prayers are being answered…this horror on ice will come to a final end.Perhaps and sadly not this month,but it will end in the very near future.I too,will not be at ease until this intolerable act of inhumanity ceases.As a registered nurse who works in labor and delivery and helps to bring new life into this world,I can say that i have great faith in karma.Baby seals are sweet and angelic little souls who deserve to live and not have to suffer a horrible death which has no place in the 21st century.My favorite phrase has to be by Ghandi,
“The greatness of a nation and it’s”moral progress can be judged by the way it’s animals are treated.”
Canada,give it up!!
Thank-you Nigel,for all of you devotion to this cause.It will not be in vain.You are an angelic force for the baby seals and I am right there beside you on this fight.Thanks so much,LyndaDambrose
I am so sad, less than 5 hours before they slaughter those poor animals.
Canada is a peace keeping nation – yet they allow the slaughter of these beautiful creatures?
I’m embarassed to be a Canadian.
I’m only one person, and I don’t have the fame or resourses you do, but I am trying to help stop this….and won’t give up until we stop it for good.
Blessings.
I applaud you for all that you do and are continuing to do to be the voice for these animals. I look up to you with not only with great respect for all that you have achieved but how you show respect to your Sri Lankan culture. I am apart of numerous charity projects concerning the Sri Lankan people with the hope that one day I too can be the voice for all living things – much like you are doing right now. I had hopes to try and be a famous face not for popularity reasons per say but in order to be heard. I thought that in American this would be impossible for a minority but you opened my eyes to see that one day maybe I can be heard. Thank you for that!
P.S. I think your mother is a sweetheart, you should get her to come on the shows more often to drape sarees…she reminds me of home so thank you for that!
Thanks for the wonderful pictures of these babies. I too also hope that this hunt will be forever gone. It just breaks my heart knowing what these babies are going through for what? I too believe it would be great if they offered a tour of how seals live, and the white coat seal pups playing and doing what babies do. It would make a positive image of Canada, instead of negative images. I still refuse to visit Canada.
Heard you are being honored at the Genesis Awards this year! Congrats! To say you deserve it would be an understatement.
I am planning a harp seal awareness day at Atlantis Aquarium in Long Island sometime late spring.Would you be interested in taking your Sealed Fate exhibit there? My name is Lynda Dambrose and I am a registered nurse on a mission reach as many people as possible and help put an end to this heartbreaking horror on ice in Canada.I want to purchase several of your posters to display at this exhibit.I am obtaining stuff from HSUS,SEA SHEPHERD CONSERVATION SOCIETY,HARP SAELS.ORG AND IFAW. Thanks for your consideration in this event.I am truely grateful for your hertfelt devotion to saving the seals Nigel.As i have stated before you are an angelic force for the seals.Sincerely.Lynda.Email ldasky@yahoo.com
Please continue to do what you do for these poor babies and their mommas! What Canada does is so inhumane and unnecessarily cruel! One day I hope this horrific hunt stops! I hope to see this happen in my lifetime! thank you for all you do!
Thank you for taking the time to photograph and be an advocate these beautiful creatures. It’s devestating to learn and see what is happening, but the word needs to get out to help end this senseless act of cruelty.
Nigel,
I just entered The Humane Society website and it was a great surprise for me to find your pictures of the seals. I’m a big fan of your art and I hope this can help end the massacre.
Thank you for appreciating nature instead of exploiting it! As far as I know, it is a rare commodity in the fashion industry to find individuals who renounce products obtained under cruel circumstances for that reason alone. You are a gem in a sea of pebbles.
The manner in which we interact with our environment directly impacts how we interact with each other and how we view ourselves. If we treat our environment and our resources with respect, the world will become a more peaceful place. One day people will want to know about nature, balance, ecosystems, and symbiosis, and one day ignorance will not be bliss.
Your photos are more beautiful and endearing than any fur coat or leather chaps I have ever seen.
Clubs are places, not weapons…