New iPhone App Targets Canadian Seal Slaughter

PETA Teams Up With Maiko Enterprises to Launch Seals Hero, Giving Gamers the Chance to Save Seals From Slaughter

For Immediate Release:
March 3, 2014

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

In 2010, Apple blocked an app that let players hunt and kill “seals”—but saving “seals” is fair game, and an app that does just that is now available from the App Store.

The gaming gurus at Australia-based Maiko Enterprises have just released Seals Hero, a new iPhone app—available to download for free—that pits Cid, an energetic young animal rights activist, against the annual slaughter of tens of thousands of baby harp seals in Canada. The strictly nonviolent Cid uses speed and intelligence to race against the clock and save as many seals as he can while avoiding a number of obstacles. And along the way, players learn about how they can team up with PETA to speak out against the slaughter, which has been in massive decline in recent years following seal import bans in the EU, the U.S., Russia, and other countries. PETA plans to promote the game to its mobile subscribers through text messaging and on social media.

“Seals Hero highlights how young generations look at seals as wonders of nature rather than living piñatas you can beat to death with a stick,” says PETA Vice President Dan Mathews. “Once they feel the accomplishment of saving virtual seals, players can hop on to PETA.org and find out how to take action to save seals in the real world.”

This is far from the first time that PETA has appeared in an iPhone app: The group’s first game, Circus Slam!, lets players take control of a guardian elephant spirit who smashes circus tents, and the PETA app helps users quickly and easily write to companies and others that abuse animals.

For more information, please visit PETA.org or click here.