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Comments: I am dismayed by the recent dismissal of a bill to end Canada's commercial harp seal hunt. Senator Mac Harb's amendment to the Fisheries Act sought to ban seal slaughter in Canadian waters, with immunity for aboriginal peoples. Senator Harb told the press that "in the face of disappearing markets for seal products and overwhelming international opposition, it is time for Canada to recognize that we can't resuscitate this dying industry." The bill was deleted from the senate's agenda without debate. Please use your influence as a spokesperson for Canadians and citizens of the world to advocate an end to this contentious hunt. I urge you to revive Senator Harb's bill -- and finally accept that most Americans, Europeans, and even Canadians oppose the word's largest marine mammal massacre. The Harb Seal Bill coincides with a declining seal market. Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Croatia, the United States and Mexico already prohibit seal products. On March 2, 2009, IMCO (Internal Market and Consumer Protection) MEPs voted 25-7 to bar seal items from import/export through the European Union. By April 1 the full Parliament will vote on the EU's pending trade ban on all non-aboriginal seal goods. It's hard to defend the annual clubbing or shooting of over a quarter million seals, 98% of whom range from 2 weeks to 3 months in age. The March 2009 hunt off Canada's east coast promises no change. Sealers ambush whelping grounds to gun down, bludgeon, kick, and thrash pups with hakapiks. The take in 2008 was over 217,000 seals, with 99.8% under 3 months old. Hunters commonly hook seals without verifying unconsciousness or death. Photos depict sealers dragging alert animals with boathooks. A team of impartial veterinarians once concluded 42% of examined seals were still awake when skinned. I've copied my comments to EU and Russian officials to let them know I back all legislation that bans commercial sealing around the world. Please support passage of the Harb Seal Bill. It's time. Thank you,