Breaking News: European Parliament Officially Bans Seal Products
05 May 2009
by Anai Rhoads
AnaiRhoads.org -- A major victory for animal rights activists, as the Europe officially rejects trade of all seal products within the European Union.
The European Parliament today voted 550 to 49 in favour of a ban, sparking a celebration from the EU to the United States. There is an exception however, to this ban. Inuit and other indigenous peoples will still be able to buy and sell the seal pelts.
Grassroots activists and non-profit organisations have worked diligently for decades to prevent these senseless seal hunts and pelt sales.
"The Parliament has hammered the final nail in the coffin of the sealing industry's market in the EU," said Lesley O'Donnell, Director of IFAW EU. "MEPs clearly heeded the tens of thousands of emails, postcards and messages sent by IFAW supporters from across Europe."
Prices for these pelts in Europe dropped to only 9 euro this year, half of what they were worth just a year ago.
The lack of demand for these products began in 2007, where new seal pelt processing nearly halted. Despite this, the Canadian government, a major contributor to seal deaths, still allows the slaughter of these mammals annually. Seven out of Canada's top ten export markets have put a ban in place, and activists are fervently waiting for the country to end these hunts once and for all.
"From Mexico City to Milan and all the way to Moscow, the world is uniting in opposition to commercial seal hunts," continued O'Donnell. "A complete collapse of Canada's commercial seal hunt may now be inevitable."
Earlier this year, Russia banned all slaughter of seal pups under a year-old, effectively halting the hunts. Currently, Belgium, Croatia and the Netherlands have national trade bans on all seal products. Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland and Italy have all taken steps designed to close down markets for seal pelts.
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