I know you are not afraid of telling
us what is right or how the rest of the world views
our action. Butchering the young to sell their pelts (the meat is almost always left behind). Ruthless capitalism, but I guess in Canada, somehow, it is different.
The modern Canadian seal hunt is as big as it has been in 50 years. Over the last 3 years, 985,312 seal pups were killed on the ice off eastern Canada. Seal pups can be legally hunted at about 12 days old – once they moult their white natal fur. More than 95% of the seals killed annually are less than 3 months old. The life expectancy of harp seals is about 30 years.
IFAW has submitted video evidence of more than 660 probable violations of Canada’s Marine Mammal Regulations to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. These abuses include skinning or bleeding live seals, stockpiling dead and dying animals, dragging live seals across the ice with sharpened steel hooks and shooting seals and leaving them to suffer.
To date, not a single charge has been laid in response.
· In January 2006,
Mexico banned the import and export of all marine mammals, including seals, and their derived products. The legislation is similar to the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act.
· Also in January,
Greenland instructed its public state company not to trade in seal pelts originating from the Canadian seal hunt.
· In December 2005, the
Dutch Parliament initiated a legislative proposal to ban the import/export and marketing of harp and hooded seals and their derived products. The proposal is expected to be debated in the Parliament in the coming months.
· In May 2004, the
Belgian Government adopted a legislative proposal to ban the import/export and marketing of all seal products. After notification with the European Commission and WTO, the proposal is due to be presented to the Belgian Parliament.
· In 1983, the
European Union introduced a ban on seal products derived from whitecoats (newborn harp seals, less than 12 days old) and bluebacks (young hooded seals, less than one year old). That ban temporarily shut down the seal hunt by eliminating European markets. Unfortunately, this ban is not effective in order to stop the current trade of harp and hooded seal pelts in Europe. Today, seals are hunted when they are just a few days older and their pelts can therefore be legally traded in the EU.
· The
United States introduced in 1972 the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), which prohibits the import/export and marketing of marine mammal products (i.e. including seal derived products). The law also applies to live marine mammals.
· The Council of Europe adopted in 2004 a Motion for a Resolution (initiated by the Italian MP Azzolini) to stop the commercial hunt of seals and called on its Member States to introduce national bans on seal derived products. The Assembly also debated a report produced by the Italian MP Nessa, which criticised the cruelty of the hunt. The report will be voted on in April 2006.
