尊敬的马大维大使：

您好！

我们是中国山东大学素食文化协会、动物保护协会、爱心协会与环保协会的同学，听闻加拿大渔业部长于今年1月前来中国倾销残忍的海豹制品，我们在了解了目前海豹的生存现状及加拿大捕杀海豹的血腥行为后，于3、4月在山东大学的各个校区组织了“保护海洋生态环境，抵制加拿大倾销海豹制品”的宣传与签名活动。在此，我们向您递交签满了同学们名字的条幅，并特向您写信，希望通过您来转达我们对加拿大政府、加拿大海豹捕杀者的抗议，与我们关爱海豹、反对海豹制品的心声。

我们了解到，在加拿大，为了商业利益的捕杀海豹行为是合法的，而加拿大的商业性海豹捕猎是地球上对海洋哺乳动物最大规模的屠杀。近年来有超过一百万只海豹惨遭屠戮，这意味着每出生３头海豹就有至少１头被杀。在过去五年惨遭商业性海豹屠宰捕杀的海豹中，有 95% 的海豹不到 3 个月大——甚至大多数仅出生不超过一个月。而捕杀海豹过程之残忍让人毛骨悚然，网上流传的视频让我们无法看完，还有那封在同学们之间不断地转发的“小海豹给人类的一封信”，信中小海豹们对捕杀者的控诉，那血淋淋的屠杀场面，让我们心惊、愤怒、悲痛！海豹何辜？海豹宝宝何辜？要为人类的欲望付出如此惨重的代价！另外，像所有的海洋哺乳动物一样，海豹是西北大西洋生态系统的重要组成部分，并且有助于所有鱼类种群的茁壮成长，加拿大对海豹的过分捕杀已经严重影响到海洋生态，加拿大所持的海豹数量过多把鱼吃光的论断完全是个杀戮的借口。

在过去的半个多世纪之中，加拿大对海豹的屠杀已经遭到了来自世界各国人民的反对。美国于 1972 年禁止了本国的海豹产品贸易；2009 年，欧盟禁止了商业性海豹捕猎产品贸易；去年3月俄罗斯出台法律对捕杀海豹做出限制性规定 现在，加拿大转而把目光投向了中国这个巨大的市场，一些捕杀者散布者“中国人什么都吃”、“中国人不关心动物”的言论。但是，我们认为这些言论是愚蠢的，不负责任的，中国人民、中国的动保组织一直在进行坚决的抵制海豹制品活动。就最近来说，3月13日，来自各地的中国民间动保组织及人世齐聚中国科技会堂，举行了“国际海豹保护日”暨《小海豹Baby》世界首演会，正式拉开了中国人民抵制海豹制品的长期战斗，我们作为普通的中国大学生，同样对加拿大感到愤慨与失望，我们将抵制到底，永不妥协。

中国的儒家文化源远流长，山东即是儒家文化的发祥地，远近闻名的“孔孟之乡”，儒家提倡的“仁爱”观念与已渗透在了山东人的血脉里，同样也渗透在中国人的想血液中。我想，作为加拿大驻华大使，您应该了解中国文化关爱生灵的传统，了解中国人民对动物的仁慈之情，以及中国近年来蓬勃发展的动物保护组织。这次加拿大向华倾销海豹制品，不仅是对中国的侮辱，也是对加拿大国际形象的极大损害。中加两国素来是友好往来国家，希望加拿大不要自己亲手毁掉这段友谊。

在此，我们仅代表普通的中国大学生，向您发出我们真诚的心声：

中国人不要海豹制品！我们不会披上滴着鲜血的小海豹的毛皮！请加拿大不要再进行这种残暴的捕猎，不要再让无辜的生灵蒙难，不要再让人类的罪恶加深！

尊敬的马大维大使，请您看看自己的孩子的眼睛，我想您一定对着这清澈的双眼深深思考过：我们要交给他们一个怎样的世界？为了那些纯净的美丽的眼睛，我们应当尽全力来停止残忍和愚昧，传播善意与爱。最后，再次真诚的希望您能向加拿大政府转达中国人民对加拿大捕杀海豹、向中国倾销海豹制品的愤怒之声。

此致

敬礼

2011年4月13日

山东大学素食文化协会

山东大学动物保护协会

山东大学爱心协会

山东大学环保协会

An Open Letter to His Excellency Ambassador David Mulroney of Canada

April 13, 2011
Jinan, Shandong

His Excellency Mr. David Mulroney
Ambassador of Canada to the People’s Republic of China
19 Dongzhimenwai Road, Chaoyang District
Beijing 100600, China

Dear Mr. Ambassador:

We are members of the Shandong University Society of Vegetarian Culture, Animal Protection Association, Association of Compassion, and Students Environmental Group. After learning the January visit in China by Canada’s Fisheries Minister to promote the sale of the brutal seal products, we have studied the current situation of the seals and the bloody slaughter of Canadian sealing industry. To express our indignation, we held two campaigns on the campuses of Shandong University in March and April. The theme of the campaigns was “Protect Marine Ecosystem and Resist Canadian Seal Products.” We distributed materials and obtained students’ signature on the pledge of opposition to Canadian seal trade. Coming with this letter is the banner bearing the signatures of students and citizens for you to send over to the Canadian government. We hope you will convey our protest, our concern for the seals, and our opposition to seal trade to your government and the Canadian sealing industry.

We understand that commercial hunting of seals is legal in Canada as long as it follows strictly the few regulations currently available. Canada’s seal slaughter is the world’s biggest assault on a marine mammal on earth. More than one million seals have been cruelly slaughtered in the last few years suggesting one out of three seal pups were wiped out. In the last 5 years, some 95% of the seals slaughtered were less than 3 months old. A majority of them were even less than one month old. The brutality of slaughter as it is captured on video circulating on the Internet is so shockingly cruel that we cannot bear to finish watching it. The letter titled “A letter from the baby seals to humans” going around among the students is a testimony of their suffering, their appeal for us humans to end the bloody killing. The letter raised our heartbeat, made us angry, sad and disbelieving.

What makes the seals the object of humans’ gross inhumanity? Why do they have to pay such a hefty price for humans’ greed and immoral demand?

Like all other marine mammals and creatures, the seals are an important component of the ecosystem in the Atlantic Ocean. They impose no harm to fish. It is overfishing by Canada that is responsible for the degradation of the Atlantic ecosystem. The claim that Canadian seals are responsible for depletion of the fish resources is a lie and an excuse for the brutal slaughter.

In the last half century, Canadian seal slaughter has been condemned by people around the world. In 1972, the United States banned seal trade. In 2009, the European Union outlawed trade in commercial seal products. Last March, the Russian government enacted restrictive regulations on seal hunt. The shifting of Canada’s sales campaign to mainland China and its enormous market, the claim of the sealing industry that the “Chinese people eat everything,” and “Chinese people do not care about animals” are unfounded and irresponsible.

The Chinese people and Chinese animal advocacy NGOs have launched a nation-wide campaign against seal trade. On March 13, representatives of Chinese NGOs from across the country gathered at Beijing’s Hall of Science and Technology to mark the beginning of the one-year campaign against Canadian seal import. As college students, we feel utter disappointment at Canada. We shall resist Canadian seal products until they disappear from the Chinese markets.

China’s Confucian culture has influenced the country and other East Asian nations for more than 2000 years. Shandong is the birthplace of Confucianism, the home province of Confucius and Mencius, the two greatest Confucian masters. Confucianism advocates “benevolence” to humans and nonhuman individuals. The Confucian benevolent ideas are circulating in the veins of each and every Shandong person. They are also in the thoughts of the Chinese people as a whole. In our opinion, as Ambassador of Canada to China, you should have a better understanding of the Chinese tradition of compassion for all lives, the Chinese compassionate feelings, and of the latest development of Chinese animal protection movement.

The trip of the Canadian officials to promote seal products was an insult to China. It has caused damages to Canadian image around the world. China and Canada have had decades of friendly ties. We hope that the good relations are not destroyed by Canada’s short-sighted actions.

We therefore use this letter to express to you the position of the Chinese college students.

The Chinese people do not welcome seal products! We do not wear blood-soaked seal skins. Canada should immediately stop the brutal slaughter that victimize the innocent seals and shame human race in general.

Respected Ambassador, we suggest you look into the eyes of your own children or your grandchildren and ask. “What kind of world I am passing over to them?” For those beautiful and crystal-clear eyes, shouldn’t we make efforts to stop cruelty and indifference? Shouldn’t we spread messages of love and compassion?

Finally, we once again urge you to convey our feelings to Canadian government. The Chinese people oppose seal slaughter and they reject seal trade.

Yours respectfully

Co-signed by:

Shandong University Society of Vegetarian Culture
Shandong University Animal Protection Association
Shandong University Association of Compassion
Shandong University Students’ Environmental Group