European Commision debating total ban on seal imports from Canada

[Annces]

The European Commission is currently debating whether to impose a total ban on all seal imports from the blood stained Canada! Here is the link to the website where they are asking for public opinion before they make the final decision in a couple of months:


"Several EU Member States are considering, or have already introduced, national legislative measures to ban the import and use of seal skins and seal products. Furthermore, in autumn 2006, the European Parliament adopted a declaration requesting the European Commission to regulate the import, export and sale of all harp and hooded seal products, while ensuring that this regulation would not have an impact on traditional Inuit seal hunting. All the measures introduced and/or being considered are mainly based on concerns over the welfare of those seals belonging to hunted populations."

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/biodiversity/animal_welfare/seals/seal_hunting.htm



Sea Shepherd post -

The Canadian government and the sealing industry are admitting that they are facing a crisis because of escalating import bans. Europe is on the verge of a blanket ban on all seal products including Canadian harp and hood seals and South African fur seals.

Now that the writing is on the wall the sealers are making promises to improve their killing methods but the truth is that there is no humane way to slaughter seals. And opposition to the seal hunt is more than just opposition to killing methods. I have always opposed the killing itself. Canadian east coast seal populations have been diminished from some forty million seals of all species to less than four million. The seal populations have been reduced by 90% and now the harp and hood seals are being faced with threats of ice melt and increased pup mortality because of global warming.

The seal slaughter has no place in a civilized society and no place in the 21st Century. It is a hold-over from the days of mass wildlife plunder and the decimation of seal populations has grossly altered the entire marine eco-system of the Northwest Atlantic region. The diminishment of the cod to less than 4% of it's original levels at the time of the European invasion is partially because of the removal of so many predators (seals) that kept the predatory fish species of the cod in check.

If the European wide ban holds it will end sealing and all of us in this movement must do everything we can to encourage the European Parliament to continue with their legislative efforts to ban all seal products.

Towards this end, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is intending to send our ship the Farley Mowat to the seal slaughter for hopefully the last time. The Farley Mowat will depart from Bermuda in March for the Eastern coast of Canada.


http://www.seashepherd.org/editorials/editorial_080110_1.html