Gillian Anderson Demands End to Canada's Seal Hunt in Letter to Justin Trudeau

"Climate change is already decimating ice-dependent seals," the 'X-Files' star and longtime animal rights advocate urged the Canadian prime minister in a letter.

Gillian Anderson wants to save baby seals from the annual hunt on Canada's east coast.

The X-Files star on Wednesday wrote Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call for an end to the nation's annual commercial seal hunt. Anderson, who has shot TV series in the country over 20 years, told the Canadian leader that the impact of environmental change was already curtailing the nation's annual cull of harp seals.

"Climate change is already decimating ice-dependent seals. It has resulted in less ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Without ice, baby seals drown," the Hollywood actress, who is a longtime supporter of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), told Trudeau in the letter obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

Pamela Anderson (Baywatch), Sarah McLachlan and Kelly Osborne have taken part in previous PETA campaigns to save seals from annual commercial hunts. Though their own seal hunt is distinct from those on the Atlantic east coast, Canada's indigenous Inuit community counters that seal harvesting provides crucial jobs and food for villagers in isolated northern communities in Canada.

"I hope to hear that you, as a leader who has been progressive on many issues, will lift the dark cloud tarnishing Canada's reputation and proud history," Anderson wrote Trudeau.