Top Chef All-Stars Team Up for Seals

by Annie Hartnett · 2011-04-08 11:22:00 UTC
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The Humane Society of the United States has added some all-stars to their animal-loving line-up: twelve contestants from Bravo’s Top Chef All-Stars have joined the Protect Seals boycott of Canadian seafood.

HSUS started the boycott on Canadian seafood in order to put pressure on fishermen to stop the commercial seal slaughter, as many Canadian fishermen hunt seals during the fishing off-season.

The All-Star chefs couldn't have teamed up with the Protect Seals campaign at a more crucial time, as this year's seal hunt has recently begun. The campaign has already garnered celebrity attention, but it's important to have chefs on board to keep Canadian seafood out of restaurants. And if those chefs are celebrity chefs, well, all the better.

HSUS Senior Vice President of Wildlife, John Grandy, said the organization was thrilled with the participation of the dozen culinary celebrities: “They are united in their passion for cooking and in their opposition to the annual commercial slaughter of seals off the east coast of Canada; in our book, they are all stars.”

Some stars shine brighter than others. The winner of the Top Chef All-Stars competition, Richard Blais, is a key supporter of the Protect Seal campaign, even if he can be a bit dim at times. Earlier this week, I put Blais on blast for serving foie gras ice cream in the show's finale. Blais is definitely not out of the doghouse yet, but I am glad he's standing up for seal pups.

HSUS reports that 97 percent of the seals killed in the hunt are under three months old. The juvenile seals are shot or brutally clubbed to death. The cruelty is so vicious that seal products have been banned in the U.S. and, more recently, in the E.U.

But despite dwindling markets for seal fur, meat, and oil, the Canadian government has authorized the killing of 20 percent more seals this year. This is more sanctioned deaths than ever before.

Since the Canadian government won't stop the hunt, we must put the pressure on the Canadian fishing industry to refuse to fuel the seal slaughter. Join the Top Chef All-Stars and sign the HSUS pledge to boycott all Canadian seafood until the commercial seal hunt ends.

Photo Credit: jomilo75

Annie Hartnett is a writer and animal advocate who has worked for several wildlife rehabilitation centers and environmental programs.

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