The World Trade Organisation has been reassured by Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus that they will impose a ban on the import and export of seal skins from Greenland and Canada.
The organisation hopes that the commercial hunting of the animals, a practice common in Greenland and Canada, will effectively be halted by the agreement.
The decision was made to protect sea mammals, with seal hunting categorised as a particularly harsh form of hunting. Russia is the biggest buyer of seal skins and whale calves skins, which are mainly supplied by Canada.
Maria Vorontsova, the director of the Moscow IFAW (International Fund for Animal Protection), said the ban was urgent due to the inhumane treatment of animals, particularly in Canada.
“Canadian seal hunters catch and kill [pups] under one year old, to be more exact, from 2 weeks to 3 months old,” Vorontsova told the Voice of Russia. “Thus, there’s reason to believe that seal hunting is cruel and inexpedient. Canada keeps saying that 90 percent of the seal skin market is in Russia.”
“And I’m very happy to say that Russia, which banned seal hunting in 2009, made another step and imposed a ban on the import of seal skins. Thus, the Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, which have joined the countries, where a ban on the import of seal skins is in force, has made a very important step,” Vorontsova added.
A ban on the sale of seal products has also been approved by the European Parliament, although there will be exceptions for certain small indigenous communities in Russia, Greenland, Canada and Alaska. European visitors will still be able to purchase souvenirs made from the animal products as long as they are not for resale.
IT´S TIME TO STOP THIS BARBARIC, CRUEL AND MURDER ACTS!!! WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS NOT STUPID MONSTERS WITHOUT FEELINGS AND A BRAIN FOR THINK!!!
Russia has, as of December 16, been given clearance to become a member of the WTO. Although thier memebership has yet to be ratified, their clearance has been years in the making and is expected to be ratified in 2012. Whether moral issues like animal welfare are factors to trade remains to be seen. Moral issues, for many humans, are a factor in what they purchase – from the environment to human welfare to animal welfare. No one can know the outcome of the WTO challenge, but the implications of this case are far reaching – for all moral issues surrounding trade.
IFAW was founded in 1969 in opposition to the commercial seal hunt in Canada. Over the years the organization has won many victories for seals, and expanded its mandate to protect other wildlife and habitats. IFAW’s staff and its offices in Russia, Canada and elsewhere around the globe have countless successes for animals and has millions of supporters around the world who stand behind the work and good record of the organization.
Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus are not members of the WTO. Nor does the WTO have a policy on seal hunting. It does have a treaty on artificial barriers to trade. The EU are in breach of this treaty with the ban on the trade in seal products. When the dispute between Norway and Canada and the EU on this matter is settled, then presumably Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus have assured the WTO that they will bring their laws into line with the WTO ruling. It would not make sense for these countries to be allowed to join the WTO if they had laws on the statute books, with laws that formed an artificial barrier to trade.
Maria Vorontsova, the director of the Moscow IFAW (International Fund for Animal Protection), said the ban was urgent due to the inhumane treatment of animals, particularly in Canada.
Maria Vorontsova, the director of the Moscow IFAW (International Fund for Animal Protection), said the ban was urgent due to the inhumane treatment of animals, particularly in Canada.
Maria Vorontsova, the director of the Moscow IFAW (International Fund for Animal Protection), said the ban was urgent due to the inhumane treatment of animals, particularly in Canada.
Maria Vorontsova takes her salary from IFAW an organisation that was set up to stop the Canadian Seal Hunt. Over the years they have found it extremely lucrative to traduce the seal hunt and con animal lovers to give them cash to prevent aledged acts of animal cruelty. If you are an animal lover, there are far more effective ways of donating money to help animals, than IFAW and other animal rights groups.