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EUROPEAN COMMISSION PROPOSES TRADE BAN IN PRODUCTS FROM SEALS TO IMPROVE ANIMAL WELFAREN

oipainternational — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:24:50 +0000

The European Commission adopted today a proposal for a regulation banning the trading of seal products within, into, and from the European Union to ensure that products derived from seals killed and skinned in ways that cause pain, distress and suffering are not found on the European market. Trade in seal products would only be allowed where guarantees can be provided that hunting techniques consistent with high animal-welfare standards were used and that the animals did not suffer unnecessarily.
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: ” We propose a ban on the placing on the market and importing into EU, transiting through, and exporting from the European Union on seal products. Seal products coming from countries which practice cruel hunting methods must not be allowed to enter the EU. The EU is committed to upholding high standards of animal welfare.”

Addressing the welfare of seals during hunting

The aim of the proposed regulation is to address the animal welfare aspects of the killing and skinning of seals during a hunt by ensuring that products derived from seals killed and skinned in ways that cause pain, distress and suffering do not find their way to the European market.

Seals are sentient mammals which can experience pain. The Commission proposal seeks to address the concerns expressed by the European Parliament and the general public that seals are being killed and skinned using practices that unnecessarily inflict pain and suffering. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) scientific opinion indicates that seals can be killed rapidly and effectively by a number of methods without causing avoidable pain, distress and suffering, but evidence shows that effective killing does not always happen in practice.

Trade in seal products would be allowed only where guarantees can be provided that hunting techniques consistent with high animal-welfare-standards were used and that the animals did not suffer unnecessarily. In countries where seal hunting continues a certification scheme would be established, coupled, if necessary, with a distinctive label or marking, which will ensure that seal products traded are clearly certified as coming from a country meeting strict conditions.

The aim of the Commission’s proposal is to uphold high standards of animal welfare.

The proposal will now be submitted to the European Parliament and to Council for their approval.

Seal hunting in the world

The 30 species of seals can usually be found along the coasts of polar and sub-polar regions of the globe, but some can also be found in some temperate regions. Of these, some 15 species are targeted for hunting with an estimated population of 15-16 million. Seal hunting occurs year round, but the hunting season varies on the region and the species targeted.

Canada, Greenland, and Namibia account for about 60% of the 900.000 seals hunted each year. Other countries which hunt seals include Iceland, Norway, Russia, and the United States, and in the European Union Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.

Background

Seals are hunted mainly for their skin, fat, and meat. The methods used to kill seals and their effectiveness vary considerably. These include shooting seals, clubbing or catching them in traps and nets.

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CANADA’S SEAL HUNT WRAPS UP

oipainternational — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:38:37 +0000

Canada’s annual commercial seal hunt is the largest commercial hunt of marine mammals on the planet. Each year, hundreds of thousands of baby harp seals are slaughtered on the ice fields off Canada’s east coast for their pelts.
Canada’s commercial seal hunt occurs on the ice floes off Canada’s East Coast in two areas: the Gulf of St. Lawrence (west of Newfoundland and east of the Magdalen Islands) and the “Front” (northeast of Newfoundland).
On 19 April, we have learned that Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans has officially closed the last and largest phase of the seal hunt off Newfoundland and Labrador.
Officials said that participation for this year’s hunt was low, mainly because of the high price of fuel and the low price of pelts, which were selling for about half of what they were a year ago.

Global Political Response
In 2005, a US Senate Resolution was introduced by Senators Levin and Collins, urging the Government of Canada to stop the hunt. The resolution has 26 co-sponsors including Foreign Relations Committee Chair Senator Richard Lugar. The US banned the trade in seal products in 1972.
In 2006, 213 members of the British House of Commons signed an Early Day Motion calling on the UK Government to introduce a ban on the import of and trade in all seal products.
In 2006, the Council of Europe passed a recommendation urging its 47 member states to promote initiatives aimed at prohibiting the trade in seal products.
In September 2006, 425 members of the European Parliament signed a historic declaration calling upon the European Commission to immediately introduce legislation to prohibit the trade in seal products. The EC then undertook a study of the humane aspects of seal hunting, the results of which could provide the foundation to ban all seal products within the EU.
Its study completed, the EC held a public consultation to measure international opinion on an EU-wide ban on the trade in seal products.
In the last four years the Canadian government has allowed over one and a quarter million baby seals to be brutally slaughtered by clubbing and shooting, with the majority of seals killed aged three months or younger. An independent veterinary study concluded that 42% of seals may have been skinned whilst still conscious. The Canadian government not only defends but also promotes this cruelty. This is the largest most brutal slaughter of marine mammals on the planet and brings shame upon Canada.

Closing markets are causing seal product prices to plummet. Seal skin prices in 2007 fell by a whopping 50% from last year. In part because of the drop in pelt value, hunters killed less than 80% of their allotted quota in 2007.

Paola Ghidotti
OIPA International Campaigns Director

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CANADIAN SEAL INDUSTRY FACES CRISIS

oipainternational — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:27:49 +0000

The Fur Institute of Canada held a meeting with about 100 sealers to discuss the various challenges confronting their industry. This fact was reported by the Canadian Press.
Canada’s commercial sealing industry faces a “crisis” because of growing opposition throughout Europe that threatens to close vital markets, the head of the Fur Institute of Canada said during a meeting in St. John’s, NL.
The chairman of the organization, Bruce Williams, said the future of the seal harvest is bleak if support for bans on the import of seal products continues to build in Europe.
“Unfortunately, the animal rights organizations around the world have come to realize that the easiest way to kill something – for maybe lack of a better term – is to kill the market”, he said.
“If you can’t sell the product, if it has no commercial value, then I would say that it is doomed. One thing I can tell you is that if fur is not fashionable on the runways of Paris and Milan, it’s not going to be fashionable anywhere”, he said.
The simple reality today is the big markets are China and Russia, but they want things that are in style, and style is not dictated by those countries. It’s dictated by the countries in Europe.

In September, Canada launched a challenge to the World Trade Organization in an effort to persuade the Belgian and Dutch governments to reverse their bans, arguing their policies were rooted in misinformation spread in large part by animal rights groups. Ottawa’s complaint remains before the WTO.
The federal government is proposing sealers immediately bleed the seal after shooting or clubbing it – a process that involves cutting two large blood vessels – to minimize pain and distress.
Canada’s efforts are counterproductive and reek of desperation.

The international opposition to Canada’s annual commercial seal hunt is steadily spreading. In September 2006, the European Parliament passed a historic resolution calling on the European Commission to introduce legislation banning the trade in all harp and hooded seal products. Closing markets are causing seal product prices to plummet. Seal skin prices in 2007 fell by a whopping 50% from last year. In part because of the drop in pelt value, hunters killed less than 80% of their allotted quota in 2007.
Commercial seal hunts often target defenseless seal pups. In Canada, more than 95 percent of the seals killed each year are less than 3 months old.

A recent scientific opinion by the Panel on Animal Health and Welfare requested by the European Commission concluded, “When seals are hit or shot, but are not dead, they may have to be hit or shot again or may be moved or skinned whilst conscious, resulting in avoidable pain, distress, fear and other forms of suffering” and “seals should be protected from acts that cause them avoidable pain, distress, fear and other forms of suffering”.

Carino Company Ltd., on its web site: Prices for seal pelts during 2007 season
“Carino came out with our first price list for the 2007 season in November 2006. This price list showed a reduction from the 2006 season. At year end 2006 we could see that there was a need for a further reduction in the price for seal pelts as the world prices for mink had been further reduced”.

Recent polling for the Humane Society International suggests that 48 per cent of the public would support their supermarket boycotting Canadian seafood in an effort to stop the annual cull.

Paola Ghidotti
OIPA International Campaigns Director

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