My Ancestors were Rogues and Murderers

This feature documentary is a thoughtful contribution to the debate on Canada's seal hunt. An exploration of the unique culture of Newfoundland's outports, the film revisits the PR coup that launched the animal rights movement onto the international stage: the 1977 Newfoundland visit, orchestrated by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, of French actress turned animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot to protest the area's ancestral sealing activities. Soon, inhabitants of the island's northern outports we're being introduced to the world as the epitome of brutality.
Directed by Anne Troake - 2005 | 55 min
Watch more free films on NFB.ca ? bit.ly/YThpNFB
Subscribe to our newsletter ? bit.ly/NFBnewsletter
Follow us on Facebook ? bit.ly/ytfbNFB
Follow us on Instagram ? bit.ly/2FdmRol
Follow us on Twitter ? bit.ly/yttwNFB
Download our free iOS Apps ? apple.co/2dbva4h
Download our free Android Apps ? bit.ly/2dbvHmO

[@arilebon]

Very much appreciate NFB. And very much appreciate this documentary.

[@carlospinheirotorres9499]

Ditto ❤

[@osmia]

Thanks for this nuanced and realistic documentary. As a young teen at the time of the media blitz, I only saw them as brutal and never then or in the years since thought to look more deeply into it

[@betrevryday1]

Me likewise respect to the Sealers 👍

[@lifesimmercanada5401]

One half of my ancestors were running from deportation when the Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713. They left Isle Royale and settled along the sw coast of Newfoundland. The other half fled persecution in Ireland by stowing away on a boat. 3 brothers. One was killed and thrown overboard when discovered, and the other two were treated as slaves and sold when they reached Newfoundland. The man who bought my direct ancestor was apparently kind, treated and fed him well, and let him go after he worked back the amount that was paid for him. The other brother died 3 months after arriving and was buried in abandoned well.