Oblivious teenagers??

I was struck by the ad copy in PETA's news article announcing Hannah Teter's 'Save the Seals' Ad:

U.S. snowboarder Hannah Teter comes from a close-knit family of shredders who spend a great deal of their time doing what they love in the snow and ice. So when the Olympic gold medalist learned about the seal slaughter that takes place every year on Canada's ice floes, she posed for PETA's "Save the Seals" ad series to help spread the word.

"So when the Olympic medalist learned about ..."

Really?

She just learned about it? In 2009?