Great protest!

The protest outside the Canadian embassy yesterday in the Hague was great, even though I'm now completely hoarse from shouting through the megaphone. It gave me a great kick to see how many people really care about what happens to the poor seals. There were people there from all walks of life, young and old, which really proves that there is no such thing as an average animal activist.

We also got support from a political angle, not just from Marianne Thieme, the leader of the Party for Animals, who presented Bont voor Dieren's petition to the embassy, but also from a delegation from the Socialist Party. It was great to see how MP Krista van Velzen and her colleagues joined in the spirit of the whole protest, clambering into white overals to make up part of the living message 'stop the clubs!'

I've also been getting a lot of positive reactions to my Dutch weblog. No-one wants to step into my shoes and go to the hunt, but they think that it is courageous that I'm prepared to do so. I don't feel so brave. The whole prospect is terrifying. After the protest, a woman came up to me and said that my on-line diary had moved her to tears. It's good to know that what I've been writing (at least in my Dutch diary) has affected people and that I can count on their moral support.