Landmark Victory for Seals in European Parliament

March 2, 2009

	One step closer to safety. © HSI/Kathy Milani

Humane Society International Canada congratulated the Internal Markets and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament for voting in favour of a strong prohibition on trade in seal products in the European Union. The IMCO Opinion will go forward to plenary weeks from now.

Update

Victory for seals! In May 2009, the European Union banned trade in seal products.

“This vote marks a critical victory in the campaign to save millions of seals worldwide from cruel slaughter,” said Rebecca Aldworth, director of HSI Canada. “The will of Europeans, their parliamentarians and EU member states is clear: the European Parliament must act now to pass a strong prohibition on trade in seal products.”

Canada’s commercial seal kill is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on Earth, with hundreds of thousands of baby seals killed annually for their fur. The overwhelming majority of Canadians are opposed to the commercial seal hunt and so the vast majority of seal products are exported to Europe for resale in fashion markets. Sealing industry representatives in Canada have stated than an EU prohibition on seal product trade could spell the end of commercial seal hunting in Canada.  

Veterinarians have studied Canada’s commercial seal hunt for five decades and have consistently found high levels of suffering. Veterinary experts say commercial seal hunting is inherently inhumane because of the remote, extreme environments in which hunts operate and the speed at which they must be conducted. This is a primary reason why nations around the world are taking action on behalf of their citizens to end their trade in seal products.

The ProtectSeals team is on Canada’s East Coast to visit the spectacular harp seal nursery.