From: SEAL ALERT-SA
Subject: Seal-Man, Cape fur Seals, One-Man Seal Navy
Date: May 16, 2008
Dear All Cape Fur Seal Supporters,
Seal-Man, Cape fur
Seals, One-Man Seal Navy
Seal Alert-SA welcomes our many new French
supporters, viva la France. To translate this page in French, copy
and paste to/Pour traduire cette page en français, la copie et la
pâte à
babelfish.yahoo.com/?fr=avbbf-xxen
.
Many of you have written offering your
help, support or funding. For this I thank you deeply on behalf of
the Cape fur seals. In an attempt to collectively answer most
common questions, I have explained below what Seal Alert-SA is and
does on a daily basis. Individual replies are difficult as the
majority of each day is taken up rescuing seals at sea.
Why a one-man seal navy, after a decade of
seal protection and rescue? The answer is simple, in order to
rescue and rehabilitate each seal requires complete dedication,
every day for up to a year. There is no funds for salaries or to
pay volunteers. Wild seals cannot be saved by volunteering for a
few days. Trust and bonds need to be established in order to be
able to effectively treat them over the months of long treatment.
Its very specialized and dangerous as a 360kg seal, as large as a
bear, can inflict a nasty bite. Baby seals need to adopt you are
their parent, if they are to survive. Without physically rescuing
these seals in the wild, in all sea conditions, with specialized
equipment, one is not able to understand fully what is required to
conserve and protect this species for the future.
Wild Cape fur seals in the sea, will not respond
to treatment or care, if no trust or bond has been established.
Seal disentanglement is very specialized and takes years of skill
to master.
As the attached pics illustrates, a day in
the life of 45-year old, Francois Hugo, founder of Seal Alert-SA.
Seal Alert-SA is a one-man seal-navy fighting for the survival of
the Cape fur seals on this planet at the tip of Africa.
Internationally known throughout Europe, Asia, America, Australia.
I am seal-father and mother, life-saving, rehabber, feeder,
care giver, campaigner, researcher, investigator, rescuer to over a
million seals dispersed along the coastline covering three
countries. My day starts at 6am and ends at 10pm. After a decade,
and over 5000 personal seal rescues, I never take a day off or
weekend or a holiday. Right now I have 6 baby seals and one
yearling undergoing their year long rehab in my seal centre in Hout
Bay Harbour, one of which is blind and will require life-time care.
Outside on my floating rafts, another 25-50 seals undergoing
various stages of treatment or disentanglement. During the
course of each year, up to 1000 seal lives are physically saved,
many, many more through my ongoing international protection
campaigns.
My monthly costs to keep my one-man/seal-life
saving operation going exceeds R20 000 a month or 2000 euros.
Which is made up entirely of fish feed costs, fuel and medication
and the occasional replacement of equipment. Each day I need
to raise R500 or 40 euros to purchase fish, just to keep
existing rescued seals alive.
My days involve diving in shark patrolled
waters, meeting heads of government, doing research, aerial
surveillance, rescue of seals in all condition, big 360kg seals and
small 5 kg baby seals, rough seas and calm. Internationally I am
known as the Seal-Man, its what I do. I do this for no personal
income, reward or salary. I am possibly the only organization in
the world doing this, and what is more I personal fund the majority
of my own rescues. I have no staff, no helpers, no cleaners, no
volunteers, no persons answering phones or doing admin.
Every dollar, pound, euro or rand raised
goes directly to the seals, and the saving of their
lives.
So how do I support
myself, for years my wife (Nelda) and I have operated our own
business, managing staff, manufacturing, selling and exporting
mini-global marine maps. We have exported/sold over 45 000, this
business provides my personal income, and a portion of the profits
from which, goes again to my seal rescue costs, as my own personal
funding. My wife, manages this business. This allows me to dedicate
100% of my time and energies to saving seals.
I am trying to stop thousands of fishermen
taking guns to sea to shoot seals. Trying to stop the mutilation of
thousands of seals via plastic loops discarded by the fishing
industry. Trying to stop 2 Namibian seal clubbing rights holders,
disturbing, interfering with the breeding behaviour and clubbing to
death of 70% of the Cape fur seals and their young. As seals are
extinct and banned from 99% of their offshore breeding
habitat, I am trying to re-populate extinct seal
islands.
Thousands of baby seals, which cannot swim
until 6-weeks of age get washed off natal colonies by storm seas
and drown or wash ashore as the offshore rocks they have been
restricted to is too small for their survival.
This is my life's mission, which starts with
saving of a seal's life each day.
If you are looking to help wildlife and this
planet, and want to know that your hard earned donations are going
directly to saving seals - then this is it. If you do decide to
donate, you will deal directly and only with me personally. There
is no-one more active, more passionate or more dedicated to saving
this species of seals. My incredible record says it all.
In return, I will keep you updated through a
weekly email newsletter and/or a video clip of the week's
activities, these can be seen on www.youtube.com/user/sealmancam.
How can you help? Forward this email to family
and Friends. Secondly, Funding is the most important, as each seal
rescued costs in excess of R3000 or 250 euros. The more financial
support received the more seal lives get saved. To avoid the
pitfalls of large organizations where large funds are used to
appeal for more funds. You could send Seal Alert-SA a monthly
contribution, this way I can focus on the seal's protection and
rescue - instead of consuming large amounts of valuable time
appealing for funds to keep operating.
Thanks to the French Tv program this website
recorded over 5000 visitors since 1 May, I was informed many French
supporters wanted to donate funds. I was also informed, that after
2 days over 160 supporters had requested further banking
information. According the volunteers operating this site and
banking, they have sent me a list that 32 supporters donated funds
into European bank accounts. I have requested a full disclosure
from these volunteers, who are not co-operating
fully. Rest
assured, I am investigating and doing a full audit, if there has
been any fraudulent activity, I will pursue this and call in the
police.
If any supporters have received emails
requesting donations on behalf of Seal Alert, or given details to
deposit funds in European bank accounts, or place orders from the
Seal Alert Shop, or have made donations to any European banks - to
please fw me a copy of these details or emails. To assist in my
investigation.
I will report further on this and my findings in
my next update.
If you would like to contact me direct, my email
address is sasealion@wam.co.za and my telephone number in South Africa
is 27-21-790 8774.
Below is the only bank account to be used for
funding, which has been officially approved by myself (see
bottom of the page). Unfortunately South Africa due to its exchange
controls does not allow Paypal. Therefore there are two methods to
sent funds to Seal Alert-SA, either by direct bank to bank transfer
or you can post me a cheque in the name of Seal
Alert-SA.
Recently
I appealed for 100 supporters to each fund 200 euros to help
purchase a 36ft ocean going catamaran boat, that I would like to
convert into the world's first floating seal rescue and
rehabilitation facility. As we currently stand about 10% has been
received towards this project. The purpose of which is to operate a
facility that is better suited to saving seal lives. Over the past
few weeks numerous enquiries have been received to help volunteer.
Unfortunately until such a vessel is acquired, I am not able to
take in volunteers, however if this purchase becomes a possibility,
it is envisaged then that small groups of volunteers could join me
in my seal rescues along this coast.
Thank you to those that have assisted Seal
Alert-SA, and continue to do so.
PS - See below pics of Seal Alert in action.
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
www.youtube.com/user/sealmancam
Seal Alert-SA Postal Address. SEAL ALERT-SA, BOX 221, POSTNET, HOUT
BAY, 7872, SOUTH AFRICA
HEREWITH IS FURTHER DETAILS FOR BANK TRANSFERS:
ZAR is South
AfricanRand
More information to
be able to send the money via internet:
SEAL ALERT-SA ACC :
911 2201 321
BRANCH CODE : 632 005
SWIFT CODE : ABSAZAJJ
BANK
: ABSA
SA NAT.CLEARING
CODE
FOR EUROPE
:
IBAN : 911 2201
321
ACCOUNT : 911 2201
321
BIC :
ABSAZAJJXXX
BIC: (SWIFT-CODE)
ABSAZAJJ
Bank name : ABSA
Address : DELPHI ARCH OFFICE PARK, RAATS
DRIVE, TABLE VIEW
City/code : TABLE VIEW, 7439
Country : South
Africa