Please End The Seal Hunt

Hong Kong has just stepped into early spring, and I have to prepare to go to the other side of the world; I heard that it is a mass of ice and snow there, the me that's abit scared of the bitter cold carried a heart of caution setting foot on this trip; after over ten hours of flight, I flew from Hong Kong to Toronto then transferred to inland Canada's Halifax. And over another hour of flight inland we finally arrived in one of Prince Edward Island's small towns Charlottetown. We first rested for the night, then the next morning we began our "Polar Journey".

Upon waking up in the morning, I opened my eyes and saw the dazzling sunlight. The previous night there was an ice storm, so I did not expect such good weather today! Looking carefully at the scenery outside the window, it was truly beautiful! Outside the hotel, the tree branches were wrapped in transparent sparkling pieces of ice. It was just like "Bing Tang Hu Lu (sugar gourd)"! I finally realised why we decorate Christmas trees with silver coloured ornaments. The picture in front of me was like a vivid Christmas card, shiny silver like a display of fireworks and brilliant lanterns, these scenes of nature were really beautiful! Our destination still required us to ride a helicopter, therefore the weather, wind direction and temperature all affected us. After everyone was ready and waiting we embarked to the northern ice-land Gulf of St. Lawrence to visit the baby seals that I had dreamt of personally coming in contact with!

When the helicopter had flown for over an hour and found a safe place to land, it was then that I realised I was standing on top of the frozen Atlantic Ocean. In front of me was the endless white ice, with the blue sky, the scene before me left me feeling unprecedented shock. At that moment deep in my heart I felt the safeness and tranquility of this place. We can't see the other features of this land and there are no other animals living and inhabiting this place, the only sounds that can be heard are the whistling of the wind and the continuous calls of the baby seals. At this moment I realised that the earth that we live in has always been one of harmony, peace and a place of beauty. Why would people come to break the laws of nature? I really cannot imagine that this place I am in, after one week will become a seal slaughter ground!

Under the lead of the experts, we cautiously walked atop the ice, carrying a wooden stick to probe the surface of the ice to check it was secure and at the same time paying attention to where the baby seals were, we finally managed to see the most cute and innocent animals! Here is where they call the seal's nursery, because from generation to generation in accordance with the breeding patterns of the seals, March is always the month when they come here to give birth. In this seal nursery, the mother seals will feed the baby seals. After more than a week of raising their young the mother seals will go to the North Pole to look for food, leaving their beloved offspring in this place originally undisturbed by man, even other animals would not threaten their safety; when I was up close face to face with them, their watery eyes were the most innocent look I have ever seen. Also don't think that every baby seal is identical, in fact under careful observation, I discovered they each have their own unique manner! However I couldn't casually touch them or hold them, because their parents were always at the side, in the sea and pothole in the ice shuttling non-stop and watching our every action and movement. Every parent will incessantly worry about the safety of their children, if not because they go to the North Pole to look for food, then they wouldn't leave them here, letting humans take advantage; seeing these adorable animals, a very uneasy feeling suddenly floated into my heart. I was thinking that these adorable animals in front of me, they are born in this place of peace, but this place will also become their burial ground. I kept thinking, after two weeks will they still be around in this world? Why do humans come to this place thousands of miles away to cruelly kill them? Why do they not have a right to live?

Actually for this trip, we were invited by SPCA (HK), to shoot a short documentary for The Humane Society International, calling on the end to this inhumane act of seal hunting. In order for the local fishermen to earn a meagre reward, with no hesitation they travel a long distance braving the danger of unstable weather to come to the ice floes. In March each year they come using a hakapik to club to death these young seals that are only a few weeks old, just for the seal's body fur that isn't worth much. They even directly strip the skin off of the seals on the ice, tossing the carcass and then leave! This kind of act is extremely despicable. Actually I think everyone knows. There are a variety of items humans can use to keep warm, there are also many choices to replace decorative items. Why use this kind of inhumane act to take away this fur that was originally for seals to keep warm?

From my point of view, this earth that we live on, is jointly owned by every human, therefore everyone has a responsibility to protect all things on earth, including nature and the ecological environment; I believe, even if these uncivilised events do not occur around us, we still have to face these problems! Because I know that humans have the power to stop this event from continuing to occur. Not only do we want to immediately stop the capturing and killing, we also need to protect these animals, and preserve the ecological balance! We must not sit by and watch, but just need to state your position to the whole world, appealing to the related area to "End the Seal Hunt". Sound into force, and not allow these uncivilised acts to continue to occur. These terrifying scenes must end immediately!

Looking back at when I took a photo with one of the baby seals, the wind suddenly turned fierce, and our leader told us we need to return immediately. We felt very reluctant to leave. When we were about to step on the helicopter, the baby seal that I took photos with used its round body to climb over to us, and called out to us with its distinctive call, as if it was saying goodbye to us and also as if calling for help. At that time I felt extremely sad. Everyone can go to the SPCA website to sign their name in supporthttp://www.spca.org.hk/chi/spca_petition.asp

I hope that with the strength from everyone united, one day we can certainly save them!