By Martin Banks - 21st January 2009
Seals are special because they are subject to the most inhumane treatment I have ever seen
Rebecca Aldworth of the of the Humane Society International Canada
Opponents of seal hunting today made an impassioned plea for an EU-wide ban on the international trade in seal products.
A parliamentary hearing was told that the trade is “inhumane and tragic” and should be banned.
Rebecca Aldworth, director of the Humane Society International Canada, told the hearing, “The EU needs to take action because Europeans have been telling their governments for three decades that they do not support the trade in seal products.
“People ask why seals are special but seals are special because they are subject to the most inhumane treatment I have ever seen.
“The EU now has a historic opportunity to save millions of these animals from a fate you cannot imagine.”
The hearing was organised by the internal market and consumer protection committee to debate a draft report by UK ALDE deputy Diana Wallis on a commission proposal for an EU-wide ban on the trade in seal products.
Members saw a worrying video by Aldworth, showing graphic scenes of seals, which had been clubbed or shot, dying in the snow.
Aldworth said they did not die instantly but, rather, suffered a “slow, agonising” death.
Her comments were echoed by Dr Andrew Butterworth of Bristol University, who carried out a study in Newfoundland into Canadian commercial seal hunting.
He said the results of his research revealed that in 82 per cent of cases, seals which had been shot did not die by a single shot and that 40 per cent of seals which had been clubbed did not die from the first blow.
“This shows that seals are not being killed humanely and there is a total absence of any monitoring of seal hunts,” he said.
Wallis said, “It is hard not to be moved when you watch the sort of scenes we have seen today.”
British EPP-ED deputy Malcolm Harbour described some methods of seal hunting as “morally unacceptable” but pointed out that, even with a ban, seals would still have to be killed in order to help control stock levels.
Another keynote speaker, David Lavigne, of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said, “This is not just a question of animal welfare, it is also a question of ethics.”
Hans Moller, of the ministry of fisheries in Greenland, set out the case for seal hunting, saying that it was “crucial” to the local economy in seal-hunting countries such as Greenland, Namibia and Norway.
He also accused those in Europe who advocated a ban of “double standards”.
He said, “The fact is that millions of animals in Europe die in great suffering each year and we hear nothing of this. All I ask is that you in Europe respect out culture and our right to hunt seals.”
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