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European Parliament approves ban on seal products
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 5, 2009
CBC News

The European Parliament has passed a bill that will ban the import of seal products, a move that could have severe implications for Canada's annual seal hunt.

The bill passed the European Union assembly in a 550-49 vote on Tuesday.

The legislation, which states that commercial seal hunting is "inherently inhumane," is expected to be endorsed by EU governments in the coming weeks to ensure the ban is in place before next year's hunt.

The ban will offer some exemptions to Inuit communities in Canada and Greenland so they can continue their traditional hunts of harp and hooded seals, but bars large-scale trading of pelts, oils or meats in the 27-state Europe Union.

Canada and Norway have previously stated they will challenge the ban at the World Trade Organization.

An earlier draft of the legislation would have left the door open for exemptions to countries that could certify their hunting methods are humane, leading Canada to institute new rules to ensure every seal is killed quickly and painlessly.

That exemption was struck from the proposed legislation.

Rebecca Aldworth, a Canadian campaigner with the Humane Society of the United States, called that a victory.

"It suggests that European Parliamentarians are as well aware as we are that there's absolutely no way to effectively monitor seal hunting and therefore enforce regulations," Aldworth said.

Canada won a concession in the amended legislation, as EU ports would remain open to the shipment of seal products headed to other markets, including Norway, Russia and China, which together form the bulk of demand for seal products.

However, Rob Cahill of the Fur Institute of Canada said those countries take their fashion cues from the runways of Europe, where seal might no longer be featured.

"If the designers in Paris and Milan can't use seal, then it certainly has the potential to reduce the cachet of seal products," he told CBC News.

The vote to ban trade in seal products comes at an awkward time for Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is heading to Prague this week to discuss strengthening trade with the EU.

The Fur Institute of Canada said it has been told that the seal ban is not on the agenda for that meeting.


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