ANTI-SEALING GROUPS WELCOME GOVERNMENT CALL FOR URGENT EUROPEAN BAN ON SEAL IMPORTS

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Respect for Animals warmly welcome the Ministerial Statement made today by Minister of Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Ian McCartney) that said the UK would be pressing the European Commission to propose EU-wide measures to ban the import of harp and hooded seal products.

A letter to Respect for Animals, from Defra Minister Ben Bradshaw and McCartney, states: ‘The Government has looked carefully into this issue and concluded that public morality concerns about this trade are a compelling and legitimate reason to act.  The UK will therefore actively pursue an extension to the current EU ban [on whitecoats, or pups under 12 days old]..... to all such seals irrespective of the age of the animal.’

The statement adds ‘the government is deeply concerned about the reported cruelty during the Canadian seal hunt.’

The announcement follows a long campaign by Respect for Animals that has involved observation and filming of the seal hunt, an opinion poll that showed that 73% of British people supported a ban on seal imports, a legal opinion that demonstrated a ban was feasible and a morality report, endorsed by more than 70 leading academics from around the world, that called for an end to the hunt and for countries to ban the import of all seal products.

The UK decision follows bans on the import of seal products by the USA, Mexico, Croatia and Belgium.

Last year a record number of Members of the European Parliament (425) signed a Written Declaration calling for a ban on the import of seal products and an Early Day Motion in the UK Parliament calling for a UK ban has currently been signed by 220 MPs.

Mark Glover, Director of Respect for Animals said today:

‘Having witnessed the seal hunt for the last two years, I can personally vouch for the cruelty and barbarity of the hunt. Today’s news is a fantastic step forward but tinged with sadness as, with this year’s hunt due to begin at the end of March, it will not spare the hundreds of thousands of pups doomed to be clubbed or shot on the ice floes. I sincerely hope that Canada wakes up to the world’s abhorrence of this carnage and brings it to an end now.’

ENDS

Notes:

Last year 345,000 seals were killed in the hunt - 20,000 more than the quota set by the Canadian government - nearly all were less than three months old.

Background information to the seal hunt and the campaign against it can be found at:

http://www.boycott-canada.com/info/index.htm

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