An Animal Rights/Vegan Activists' Strategies Article used with permission from All-Creatures.org

Harpseals.org discusses their work and advocacy over the years, how they’ve spread the word about the horrific and ongoing killing of seals and advocated for the protection of these beautiful marine mammals.

Harpseals.org Campaigns: Advocating for Seals Throughout the Years
From Harpseals.org

Images from Canva

Outreach

Harpseals.org has been educating people around the U.S. and in Canada by hosting booths and tables at fairs, festivals, conferences, and in parks and other public spaces. At these tables, we get the chance to explain in detail what is happening to seals in Canada as well as Namibia, answer questions, provide leaflets, magnets, and other items for people to take with them, and inspire seal activism. We have reached thousands of people of all ages in this way.

We have distributed leaflets at seafood restaurants, in shopping centers, and in outdoor gathering spaces like pedestrian malls and parks. We have also assisted others in distributing leaflets and hosting tables by providing leaflets, banners, stickers, and other supplies and paying festival exhibition fees.

We have found that children show a keen interest in getting involved in the campaign to end sealing. We have seal dolls, stickers, and coloring books for them at our information tables. They give us hope for the future.

In addition to outreach at festivals, Harpseals.org volunteers have spoken in schools and at civic group meetings. We have also put educational displays in libraries.

If you would like to help seals at an outreach event, contact us. We are happy to help. If you would like to distribute leaflets, you can order them at no charge.

Photo from Harpseals.org

Protests

We have organized many protests in the U.S. over the years and have assisted others in organizing their own protests. We organized International Days of Action in which groups protested around the world. These protests gained attention for the plight of the seals and inspired new activists to join the movement to end Canada's seal hunt. These protests helped to persuade the European Union to ban seal product imports in 2009, which was one of the main events that helped to drastically reduce the demand for seal fur and seal oil and has consequently saved hundreds of thousands of seal pups.

If you would like to organize a protest, contact us. We are ready to help.

Photo from Harpseals.org

Advertising

Harpseals.org has reached millions of people with ads for seals. Our ads are designed to educate people and inspire action. They guide people to our website to learn more about the slaughter of seals and how they can get involved in stopping it.

Our ads have been seen in the U.S., Canada, and Namibia in many different media. We have run commercials on TV in the U.S. and Canada. We have run radio ads in the U.S. to promote the boycott of Canadian seafood. We have advertised on Facebook, in newspapers and magazines, and on many websites. We have also raised awareness with outdoor advertising, including billboards, a giant wall-scape ad, mobile truck ads, and bus depot ads.

Photo from Harpseals.org

Other ways we help seals

Harpseals.org has also worked to end the slaughter of harp seal pups in Canada in other ways. We produced a short film, Seals and Sea Lions: Scoundrels or Scapegoats? In this film, we interview several fisheries scientists and marine biologists about the calls for increased killing of harp seals, grey seals, and seals and sea lions on the Pacific coast of Canada. We have shown this film in several film festivals. Our film is freely available for viewing on YouTube, and you can watch it below. Please watch it and share it.

We have collected many thousands of signatures on petitions to stop the seal "hunt" in Canada. We gave a big stack of petitions to the Canadian consulate in Los Angeles.

In order to promote the boycott of Canadian seafood, we created a recruitment kit and recruited many restaurants and stores to boycott Canadian seafood. We conducted a market research campaign to assess willingness to participate in the boycott. We also urged seafood buyers at the International Boston Seafood Show to refrain from buying Canadian seafood, countering the promotion of Canadian seafood at the Canadian booth. We are now promoting a simpler but just as effective boycott of Canadian snow crabs through multimedia advertising.

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Posted on All-Creatures.org: May 11, 2026
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