We’re getting there!
Posted on April 28, 2009 - Filed Under Charity, HSUS
EU Nations Agree Seal Product Ban, Trade Row Looms
Date: 27-Apr-09
Country: BELGIUM
Author: Pete Harrison
BRUSSELS – European ambassadors approved a European Union plan to ban imports of furs and other products from culled seals on Friday, moving the 27-nation bloc one step closer to a trade clash with Norway and Canada.
Both seal-hunting nations have warned the EU in recent weeks that they could challenge the EU ban at the World Trade Organisation, the global trade watchdog, if it takes shape as currently foreseen.
“Nothing should now stand in the way of this ban being adopted,” said an official from the EU’s Czech presidency, which brokered a deal this week that will exclude hunts by the Inuit.
It needs to go before the European Parliament in May, but “that should be a formality because parliament negotiators have already agreed to it informally,” the official added.
Canada, Greenland and Namibia account for around 60 percent of the 900,000 seals hunted each year. The rest are killed in Iceland, Norway, Sweden,Finland, Britain and the United States.
An official said the commission believed the plan was “legally sound”.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere wrote to EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton this month arguing that the ban broke the principle of free trade and set a dangerous precedent on the harvesting of renewable resources.
Canadian Trade Minister Stockwell Day said there was no basis for a ban.
“We are disappointed that a ban is being considered. Canada will consider all the options available to us in order to protect the livelihood of coastal and northern Canadians and their families,” he said in a statement.
The 15 seal species now hunted are not endangered but European politicians demanded action after finding what they said was evidence that many are skinned while still conscious.
The animals are usually first shot or bludgeoned over the head with a spiked club known as a hakapik.
Russia banned the hunting of baby harp seals last month, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called it a “bloody industry”.
A European Food Safety Authority report last year highlighted various causes of unnecessary suffering, such as trapping seals underwater where they drown.
It recommended that seals first be shot or clubbed and then monitored to check they are dead before being bled and skinned, to ensure they never regain consciousness during the process.
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Awesome… This has just made my day!
I have always been an advocate for the animals and this is such great news! Nigel keep up all the great work you do for them.
~S~
WE ARE THERE! 4:54 AM PST HSUS announced the EU voted to ban the trade in seal products!
So happy right now! Again… must say thank you for helping it all happen!