VITA takes Russian stars on flight to save baby seals
© Vladimir Melnik
A ban has been placed on the hunting of baby seals in 2008 following a wave of protests from celebrities and animal protectionists against the killing of newly-born Greenland seals.
The ban, which covers the Archangel region of Russia, is officially due to dangerously thin ice. However, Moscow-based WSPA member society VITA is convinced that their campaigning – which generated huge coverage and public support – was what pushed authorities to act.
Celebrities turn activists
On 10 and 11 March 2008, VITA took Russian celebrities Laima Vaikule, Artemii Troitskii, Alena Sviridova, Aleksandr F. Sklylar and Viktor Gusev to the coastal village of Letnyaya Zolotitsa, where the Greenland seals give birth.
The journey tested the dedication of the participants, undertaken in unpredictable weather conditions and requiring an ice-reconnaissance by aeroplane.
On landing, the celebrities discovered several seals with their newborn infants. It was against this background that the Russian stars, watched by dozens of movie cameras and press photographers, asked the public to demand a legal ban on the killing of baby seals in Russia.
Before leaving, they lay on the snow like newly born pups next to the slogan “Russia without cruelty!”
Sustainable alternatives
VITA’s descent on the White Sea provoked a fierce opposition from hunters and the press conference turned into a stormy two-hour discussion.
The three basic arguments of the hunt supporters were that the hunts keep alive the unique traditions of the local people and control the seal population. They also cited a lack of alternative ethical employment in the region.
However, the celebrities visited the “Living Nature Club” on their two day trip, where they saw for themselves an alternative to hunting.
Eco-tourism in the area employs dozens of local inhabitants, providing flights to see the new-born seals, holidays in the pine woods and seeing the ethical “industries” of the North: preparing cloudberries, bilberries, cranberries, mushrooms and seaweed.
The campaign continues
Russian animal activists and stars are now turning their attention to having this year’s ban on the hunt of white-coat pups and “greys” (slightly older pups) translated into a legal ban.
“We are sure that this project will attract massive attention to this problem not only among Russian society, but worldwide. We have had our first success – there will be no slaughter of baby seals this year,” said Irina Novozhilova, president of VITA.
“However, we want the ban on killing to be made a legal requirement, and one that would cover seal pups of any age.”
VITA Animal Rights Centre, Moscow
Website: www.vita.org.ru