Rosauers Supermarkets Joins ProtectSeals Campaign

Published on Oct 10, 2008 - 7:04:03 AM

By: Humane Society of the United States

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2008 - The Humane Society of the United States is pleased to welcome Rosauers Supermarkets, Inc. to its roster of more than 4,500 grocery stores and restaurants that are participating in the ProtectSeals campaign to help end Canada's commercial seal hunt. Other participating companies include WinCo Foods, PCC Natural Markets, Whole Foods Markets, Trader Joe's, Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Cafés, Ted Turner's steakhouse chain - Ted's Montana Grill, Harris Teeter and Bon Appétit Management Company.

"Rosauers Supermarkets is really pleased at the opportunity to join the ProtectSeals campaign," said Jeff Phillips, president and CEO of Rosauers Supermarkets. "As a company, our mission is to provide the highest quality products to our customers, and we feel that participating in this campaign furthers that mission."

In an effort to stop the annual slaughter of baby harp seals off the east coast of Canada, Rosauers Supermarkets has pledged not to sell any Canadian seafood from the seal-hunting provinces in its grocery stores until Canada ends its commercial seal hunt for good.

"Along with thousands of other companies and hundreds of thousands of individuals, Rosauers Supermarkets is sending an important message to Canada," said Patricia Ragan, director of The HSUS' ProtectSeals Campaign. "We are thrilled to have Rosauers Supermarkets join our effort to bring Canada's commercial seal hunt to an end."

Rosauers Supermarkets operates more than 20 stores in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington under the Rosauers Food & Drug, Super 1 Foods and Huckleberry's Natural Market banners. In addition to traditional supermarket fare, many of the stores house bakery, deli, floral, pharmacy and photo departments as well as restaurants, post offices and UPS outlets.

Since the launch of the ProtectSeals campaign, the value of Canadian seafood exports to the United States has dropped dramatically, providing financial incentive for Canadian fishermen to stop supporting and participating in the annual seal hunt.

Facts about Canada's Commercial Seal Hunt:

* Canada's commercial seal hunt is the world's largest slaughter of marine mammals, with nearly one million seals killed in the past five years.
* Restaurants, seafood distributors and grocers participating in the ProtectSeals campaign pledge to avoid Canadian snow crab, or all seafood from Eastern Canada, or seafood from all of Canada until the hunt ends for good. The HSUS has signed pledges from all boycott participants.
* Provinces that participate in the annual seal kill include Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
* Canada exports nearly two-thirds of its seafood to the U.S. producing $2.5 billion annually for the Canadian economy, compared to less than $8 million generated in 2008 by the commercial seal hunt.
* More than 95 percent of the seals killed each year in the commercial seal hunt are less than three months of age. The majority are about one month of age or less. Many have not yet eaten their first solid meal or learned to swim properly at the point they are killed.
* Because of global warming, ice is thinning in the Canadian birthing grounds of the harp seal. In 2007, more than 90 percent of the seal pups died in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence due to melting ice. Despite this, Canada went on with the hunt.
* Since the ProtectSeals seafood boycott went into effect, the value of seafood industry exports from Canada to the United States has fallen dramatically.
* Nigel Barker, noted photographer and judge from America's Next Top Model, is our spokesperson for the campaign. Nigel accompanied HSUS staff to the ice floes this past spring to photograph the seal nursery and document the hunt.

For more information about the campaign to save Canadian seals, please visit humanesociety.org/protectseals.

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