Rescuing at least 1,000 seals every year, Seal Alert-SA based in South Africa is at the forefront of protecting this precious species, native to the coasts of Namibia and South Africa, especially in efforts to save them from a brutal annual massacre for their fur.
Through correspondence, Seal Alert-SA’s founder Mr. Francois Hugo has been sharing with Supreme Master Ching Hai updates including both triumphs and challenges in his noble endeavors.
Supreme Master Ching Hai in turn has been closely following Mr. Hugo’s efforts and made contributions in support of his work that total US$300,000 thus far, starting with a US$200,000 donation made in 2009, US$50,000 in March 2011 and US$20,000 in July.
Then in September 2011, Supreme Master Ching Hai gratefully provided Seal Alert-SA with an "extra US$30,000, for furthering protective actions for these helpless, innocent blessing love beamers and with all love and prayerful best wishes for their peaceful well-being and relatedly that of our world."
The following are excerpts of a letter from Mr. Francois Hugo to Supreme Master Ching Hai, conveying his thanks as well as sharing an update about a new seal advocacy alliance and a conference regarding the animals' mass slaughter in Namibia.
Dear Supreme Master Ching Hai, This is indeed a gift from the deep blue. … Taking Supreme Master Ching Hai's advice, (I) formed an alliance with National SPCA and WSPA called the Seal Welfare Alliance.
This in turn led to Seal Alert's attorney, the one Seal Alert appointed to do the original legal opinion with the funds provided by Supreme Master Ching Hai, to be appointed as Seal Welfare Alliance's attorney.
My attorney read out the Seal Alert letter during the conference. Following the conference which he attended, his advice to SPCA was that they must charge the sealers for cruelty and in so doing stop the harvest.
I repeat, stop the harvest. … Since March, seals have been increasingly reported by the public to Seal Alert for rescue. Soon after the seal cull started in Namibia, this situation grew worse.
Seal Alert was responding to 1-5 seal rescues a day, almost every day. I think many of these seal pups were fleeing out of Namibia from the disturbance. As a result of the financial situation, I have had to publicly stop seal rescues, as I was struggling to keep existing rehab going and had to reduce the seals’ feeding from twice daily, to a single feed.
So you can understand my shock, relief and deep thanks when I opened my email inbox this morning. Now I can complete the catamaran and engines, and purchase/order the seal … requirements for the next few months, which is an absolute blessing, as … seal pupping season, where babies strand on our coastline needing rescue, is about to start.
Further to this, a Korean film crew came to make a program on Seal Alert for KBS, and were even involved in rescuing a seal and naming it. In addition, China CCTV is coming on Sunday, and Animal Planet – Wildlife SOS is coming on the 25th October for a few days of filming. These films should reach millions around the globe.
A few seals died after being too weak to make the journey to Seal Alert, but otherwise almost all the others that arrived alive, recovered and are doing very well, including BB, Mumkin and Huggie.
All in all, it’s been a hectic past few months. I also arranged an aerial flight over the repopulated former extinct seal island Seal Alert repopulated in 2008, and it’s thriving, with seals now covering the entire island.
So Supreme Master Ching Hai, thank you, thank you as I do not know what I would have done without your generous support for Seal Alert and Cape fur seals.
I hope to make you very proud. For the Seals Francois Hugo
Seal Alert-SA
VOICE: We thank Supreme Master Ching Hai for allowing us to share this letter with concerned viewers, and our Association’s Foreign Group for making it available.
Our appreciation, Mr. Hugo, Seal Alert-SA and the organizations comprising the new Seal Welfare Alliance, for your concerted perseverance to protect the Cape fur seals.
May these sensitive and loving beings soon thrive in deserved peace and dignity through humanity’s awakened compassion.Upon seeing this update from Mr. Francois Hugo, Supreme Master Ching Hai replied as follows:I am sure proud of your love and what you do.
Please accept US$50,000 for furthering your good works. May God bless and protect the seals and your great self. With gratitude and love to you and all seal-alliance members.
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