On Friday August 29th, IFAW's ER Team arrived in Louisiana in advance of Hurricane Gustav's expected landfall early next week.  On the 3rd annivesary of Hurricane Katrina, IFAW will be on the ground to make sure this time, the welfare needs of animals are properly met.

Called to assist by the Louisiana State Vetrinarian,  the IFAW team, along with members from the Animal Rescue League of Boston, are standing ready at the "megashelter" at the State Fairground 5 miles west of Shreveport.  Animals have already begun arriving and as the evacuation continues, more are on the way.

A second IFAW team is also ready to deploy should search and rescue efforts be needed post-landfall.  We are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.

Read posts from the field on our efforts in Louisiana 

EU Commission Proposes Ban in Seal Products

EU Environment Commissioner Mr. Stavros Dimas announced today a proposal to ban the trade in seal products.  The proposal comes after growing political opposition and a huge public outcry  about ongoing commercial hunts for young seals. 

While this is certainly a step forward, IFAW remains concerned about potential loopholes that would allow the trade to continue.  Specifically, the proposed ban allows exemptions for seal products obtained from hunts which meet certain criteria for killing seals.

“We are very concerned about this loophole,” said Robbie Marsland, Director of IFAW UK. “Only a complete ban can prevent products from these large-scale and inherently cruel hunts from entering the European markets. Harsh and unpredictable hunting conditions make it impossible to properly monitor or enforce so-called humane killing methods.”

Read more about the proposal here

Visit IFAW's Seal Campaign Page

A unique cooperative pilot project between IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare), the B.C. Ministry of Environment and the Northern Lights Wildlife Society (NLWS) returned two rehabilitated grizzly bears to the wild in northern British Columbia today.

The bear cubs, nicknamed Suzy and Johnny are both a year and a half old, and were rehabilitated at the NLWS center in Smithers, British Columbia. Suzy was orphaned in June 2007 after her mother was killed by a poacher. Johnny was rescued in Prince George, British Columbia in November 2007 after his mother was killed by a semi-truck.

Observers with IFAW have returned after witnessing the slaughter of harp seal pups during this year’s commercial seal hunt.

The team observed and documented sealers on the ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence hunting with hakapiks on the opening day of the hunt.