EU parliament backs seal products ban

MEPs have overwhelmingly endorsed plans for an EU ban on the commercial trade and importation of seal products.

Deputies approved the controversial ban by 550 votes to 49 on Tuesday at their final Strasbourg plenary session before the European elections.

UK Socialist MEP Arlene McCarthy, who negotiated the deal following the defeat of proposals for a less restrictive labelling regime originally drafted by UK liberal MEP Diana Wallis, said the result was "a victory for people power and a credit to the campaigners involved".

McCarthy added, "It has been a battle to get this law on the statute book. Sustained last minute lobbying by non-EU countries has sought to demonise Europe for ending a trade which in reality is collapsing around the world.

"I have been determined to steer this law into place as a clear expression of the will of the European public.

"The impact of this impending ban has already been felt. Thanks to the continuing collapse in the fur price the Canadian hunt has killed less than 60,000 seals this year, down from over 220,000 last year."

Nicki Brooks, director of campaigning group Respect for Animals said, "This is a truly fantastic day for the seals. Without Arlene McCarthy's leadership and commitment this ban would not have been possible."

Fears expressed by Canada's Inuit community and other groups that the ban would devastate their livelihoods were dismissed by MEPs who felt that the inclusion of a limited exemption would diminish the economic impact for traditional, indigenous hunting communities.

Protection

MEPs from across the parliament's political groups were quick to applaud Tuesday's vote, with fellow socialist deputy Christel Schaldemose saying that the deal would "protect seals from cruelty and protect the Inuit people's traditional way of life".

The Danish MEP said, "Our regulation has only excluded cases where the seal products result from traditional hunts conducted by Inuit and other indigenous communities which contribute to their subsistence.

"This regulation will ensure that the cruel trade will stop, and harmonised rules will be in force for the entire internal market."

Evelyne Gebhardt, Socialist group coordinator on the consumer protection committee, said, "Socialists have been on the side of animal protection from the beginning. We have fought for stronger regulation.

"As a result of the socialists, there will no longer be any importing, production or marketing of seal skins and seal products in the EU."

Green MEP Caroline Lucas, vice chair of the parliament intergroup on animal protection, said she was "delighted" by the vote.

"By closing the door on fur and other seal products, parliament has taken meaningful action to reduce the scale of cruel commercial seal killing across the world," she said.

"Today's vote marks a clear rejection of the draftswoman Diana Wallis' approach. She was clearly out of step with public opinion and political will by calling for a label on seal products instead of a ban."

Another animal protection intergroup vice chair, Swedish Green deputy Carl Schlyter attacked his country for "shamelessly" presenting itself as the EU's most stubborn opponent of the ban.

"I hope that the ban on the trade in seal products will save hundreds of thousands of seals from being clubbed and shot under cruel conditions in Canada and elsewhere," said Schlyter.

Enforcement

UK EPP-ED deputy Malcolm Harbour also welcomed the decision, but warned, "This is the start of the process rather than the end. We must now work closely with the countries conducting seal hunts to make sure this is properly enforced.

"This may not bring an end to the seal hunt, conducted for sustainable management purposes, but it does send a clear message that we should have no part in animal cruelty."

International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) spokesman Robbie Marsland told journalists in Brussels that "citizens realise that the EU has done a good thing here".

Marsland said that IFAW had been tirelessly campaigning to end Canada's commercial seal hunt for 40 years, and accused the Canadian government of being out of touch with public opinion, both in Europe and Canada.

"The Canadian government will still issue Total allowable catches (TAC) for the commercial hunting of seals, [but with this ban], let's see if the sealers themselves deem it worthwhile to go out on the ice," he said.

Opposition

However, opponents of the ban are convinced that its wider scope will render the indigenous hunting community exemption meaningless.

"This exemption is nothing but a ruse that at most will aid the proponents of the ban and will not help the Inuit," said Nunavut environment minister Daniel Shewchuck.

"With an outright ban on commercial trade, the price of skins will collapse, and with it one of the few ways in which the Inuit people are able to bring cash into their communities."

The chair of the International Fur Trade Federation Andreas Lenhart said that MEPs had "rushed through bad legislation in their eagerness to garner what they think will be public appeal just before they are up for re-election".

"Instead of closing the market completely, they could have created an economic incentive to improve welfare standards, and helped to safeguard the viability of many diverse rural livelihoods," he argued.

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