Each year on the east coast of Canada, a terrible slaughter takes place. Focused mainly on harp seals but also including some hooded seals, hundreds of thousands of animals are clubbed or shot before being skinned; their white spotted fur is valuable in many countries.
Sealers are generally fisherman who take part in the hunt during the fishing off-season. Killing seals brings in approximately one twentieth of their annual income, with the rest being made up by commercial fishing. Still, the Canadian government subsidizes this unnecessary hunt, which was declared inhumane after veterinarians studied it in 2001. Most of the animals killed are baby seals under three months of age, and too often they are not dead before being skinned. Many are shot from a distance and fall under the ice to die slowly, lost before the hunters can even harvest their fur.
The good news: today we've reached a milestone in our efforts to end these horrible seal hunts. European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to ban the import and sale of furs from commercially harvested seals. The U.S. and Mexico already have a ban on importing most seal fur products and Russia just made it illegal to hunt seals under one year of age in the White Sea in March 2009. However, Europe's ban does not cover the seals hunted by the Inuits and other indigenous tribes from the north, who kill them as a source of sustenance.
Canadian minister of trade Stockwell Day has said that if Europe doesn't exempt Canada from the ban they will challenge their decision at the World Trade Organization.
We'll see what happens, but ultimately this is a huge step forward in protecting Canada's seal population!
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