It was a crisp, cold, perfect day when Karen Mok Man-wai stepped from a helicopter onto the icy expanses along the northeastern coast of Canada just over a month ago. 'It was like nothing I have experienced before,' she said. 'It was hard to imagine I was there, standing on top of the ocean. It was amazing - so peaceful. There was nothing except the white ice and the seals, and the only sound was the little noises the baby seals made. 'I had flown from Hong Kong and the hustle and bustle, and there I was in the middle of nowhere, and it was so peaceful, so pure and beautiful. It was real nature.' On the ice the 38-year-old actress and singer had her first encounter with a baby seal. It was pure white and fluffy, with big dark eyes. It was barely a month old and unable to swim; it shuffled along the ice on its belly, displaying a trust in humankind that allowed Mok to get so close she could almost touch it. 'I really bonded with that animal. I think the seals really liked me. I think they knew I was there to help them. They really are beautiful animals. It is the first time I have ever been up close and personal with a truly wild animal. What struck me was they were not all the same and each seemed to have their own different expressions.' However, the trust the animal displayed in humankind was to prove misplaced. If Mok had arrived just a couple of weeks later, the scene would have been quite different. It would have been the scene of a slaughter, the white of the ice stained red with the blood of hundreds of freshly killed seals. It is possible that the young seal Mok 'bonded' with was one of around 300,000 that were killed, their pelts sold to fur companies for around HK$300 each in the annual government-backed hunt that took place just days after she left the area. It is illegal to kill the 'whitecoats' but at around a month old, when the seal's fur turns grey, they become a legitimate target for hunters. Mok found this thought the most difficult to deal with during her visit. 'There was this weird mixed emotion going through my mind when I was there with the babies. I was looking at them and thinking how amazing they were, and then my mind jumped to a few weeks ahead when the whole place would be like a slaughter ground, and the animal I was looking at would probably be gone. It was not a good feeling.' It was a campaign to end the hunt that took Mok thousands of kilometres from Hong Kong to the desolation of Canada's ice floes. She was visiting the seals to make a minidocumentary for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Humane Society International, as part of a public awareness campaign aimed at bringing about a ban of the seal product trade in Hong Kong and ending the annual hunt, which some see as cruel and inhumane. Pro-fur campaigners defend the hunt as sustainable, humane and well managed, and the Canadian government says it provides supplemental income for isolated fishing communities that have been hurt by the decline in cod stocks. The Humane Society believes that with a ban in Europe pending, the fur trade is looking to boost its market in Hong Kong and on the mainland, which in 2006 was worth HK$6.5 million. The SPCA aims to collect 700,000 signatures in a petition to persuade the Hong Kong government to ban the trade - a move it feels would close the door on the global trade and end the hunt. 'The message we are trying to get across is that this - the seal hunt - has something to do with everyone in Hong Kong, even though it is not happening on our doorstep,' Mok said. 'It is what's going in the world, and we are all part of the world. 'It is not just about helping animals. It is also about helping mankind. It is about educating our future generations not to be selfish but to care about what's happening and the environment. Wildlife is part of our environment. We all have a responsibility to preserve nature and that includes wildlife as well. 'It's not that people in Hong Kong don't care about what is happening. We have come a long way in terms of awareness of animal welfare ... However, I think with the seal issue, people here are just not aware of what is going on. I didn't know much about it until the SPCA contacted me and I thought: 'Oh my god, I have to do something'.' Mok is a long-time ambassador for the SPCA and the Animals Asia Foundation. 'I just can't say no to giving my support to a good cause.' That commitment extends to targeting people she sees wearing fur. 'I try not to offend people but I do try to get my point across,' the actress said. 'I really hope the day will come when people will stop wearing fur. I think it is all a matter of demand and supply,' she said. 'If designers and manufacturers stop using fur, no one's going to die. People will just go on ask for something else. We can live without wearing fur coats, for sure. 'I hope the people of Hong Kong will see it that way too, and they stop wearing fur, sign the petition and end the seal hunt.' The SPCA petition to end the trade of seal products in Hong Kong can be found at www.spca.org.hk/eng/spca_petition
