Seal Chronicles - Update on protest actions

[The Seals of Nam]

Hi all!

Sitting here, reflecting on the last few weeks I struggle to find the words to describe the enormous achievements that have been attained with regards to our campaign. It has been without a doubt the busiest, yet most rewarding period since I can remember. 

As mentioned in the previous "Seal Chronicles" Anneke and the team from Fur Free SA decided to launch an intensive online campaign, covering Facebook and Twitter. Behind the scenes was a flurry of activity that involved celebrities, media and general mayhem! But true to form, they pulled off an incredible feat. Twitter in particular absolutely FLOORED it! Over 8 000 tweets went out directly to celebrities such as Richard Branson, Pink, Green Day, Leonardo di Caprio and Bill Gates. ITB Berlin Conference (the worlds largest tourism expo where Namibia had a stand) had more references on Twitter to "Boycott Namibia" than it did to the actual conference! The "instant tweets" proved a huge hit and are still available should anyone wish to pursue them (hint hint!) A massive thanks to all our SA celebrities who supported the cause. 

Another massive success was the radio coverage this year. Toni from Beauty Without Cruelty had a fantastic interview on Bush Radio and again on Chai FM where she was joined by Nikki (Fur Free/Sea Shepherd/TSON) Again, celebrities came to the fore, were interviewed and voiced their disapproval of the massacre. FANTASTIC! I was interviewed by Radio Kudu, NBC and 99FM in Namibia as well as Algoa FM in SA. Algoa FM had us on their website as did East Coast Radio. I have been informed that 5fm also discussed the Namibian situation with DJ's Grant and Zanele going so far as to say our campaign is severely affecting Namibia's GDP. (2-3% )

As for the actual protests.... WOW! Each city pulled it off in style, adding their own special brand of flavour. People came from all walks of life to support us. Cape Town braved the heat, San Diego braved the rain. Durban peaked at over 70 people with bumper stickers being handed out and pasted on buses. Bite Back and Sea Shepherd in Belgium got LOUD! (Watch the video here.) WEEAC, BWC and TSON distributed around 2 000 fliers in Cape Town. (Thank you Studio 22 for the kind donation!) Boston, although small, handed out flyers, Melbourne went for Yavuz. Absolutely brilliant. I will let the attached photo's speak for themselves! 

Again, protests were covered by both the print and electronic media including MSN. An EXCELLENT job was done by all! Some folks may feel we achieved little, but personally I feel that for people from Australia, the USA, Canada and the UK to all join forces and to unite in condemnation of some 3rd world African country's animal welfare violations is something truly remarkable. A massive thanks to everyone involved for having made this possible. 

Ultimately, a boycott is not the ideal situation and we wish to end this unpleasant situation as soon as possible. However, it has got the attention of the media, the Namibian Tourism Board and the Namibian Fisheries Minister, Bernard Esau. Esau has invited the "activists" to sit down and talk. We are going to accept his invite once we have completed our independent seal population survey. We will then be able to silence any critics once and for all. If anyone can assist us with sponsorship, PLEASE contact us! Fantastic opportunity, massive brand exposure! 

And that about sums up this edition. If you would like to subscribe directly to us you can do so HERE

Take care, till next time! 

Kind Regards

The Team

The Seals of Nam

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