Baby Seals Go to Court Over E.U. Ban

On August 20, the European Union's ban on seal products went into effect. Sort of.

Over a year ago, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of banning fur and other products from commercially harvested seals. Every year, hundreds of thousands of baby seals are brutally slaughtered for their pelts along Canada's coasts in the world's largest marine mammal massacre. They're either shot or clubbed to death, and 97 percent of the victims are under three months old. Veterinary and zoology experts have declared the hunt inherently inhumane. In 2001, a report found that there was not sufficient evidence in 42 percent of the cases that the pups were even unconscious when they were skinned.

The world is unimpressed with this cruelty. Seal products are banned in 30 countries, including the U.S., and last year, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling for an end to the seal slaughter. Celebrities from Paul McCartney to Bill Maher to Kelly Osbourne have spoken out against the hunt. Russia banned the slaughter of baby harp seals in 2009, effectively ending its own hunt, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has condemned the "bloody practice." Yet the E.U. ban is tangled in legal red tape.

The ban already had an exemption allowing Inuits and other indigenous groups to continue hunting seals for "cultural, education or ceremonial purposes." But a group of Inuit leaders, sealing companies and fur industry representatives challenged the ban in the European General Court. The Court blocked the ban while the case is pending, but then the European Commission said it still applies to everyone who is not involved in the case. Granted, the plaintiffs represent a huge portion of the industry, but the fact that European Commission is sticking by the ban is a good sign.

Adrian Hiel from the International Fund for Animal Welfare says, "We are confident that the suspension will be lifted and the E.U. seal ban will be implemented shortly." Long before the next seal hunt begins.

The Canadian government not only defends the slaughter, calling the ban "unfair and discriminatory," but they heavily subsidize it with funding for salaries, seal product development, Coast Guard support for sealing crews and international lobbying. They also tastelessly protested the impending E.U. ban by serving seal meat last spring in Parliament's restaurant.

The industry has been dying all on its own. The European ban may have something to do with the diminishing hunt, although the primary markets for seal pelts are Norway, Russia and China. Climate change has also been a challenge for both seals and their killers. Warmer waters means less ice, which means the harp seals have fewer options for where they give birth. The herds are scattered, making it less worthwhile for hunters to take their boats out, and the pups are struggling to survive on their own. Less than 25 percent of the quota has been taken by hunters in the past two years.

With a shrinking market and a lack of public support around the world as well as within Canada, the seal hunt is on borrowed time. Tell Canada it's time to stop the slaughter.

The General Court will rule sometime after September 7th. Canada is also challenging the E.U. ban with the World Trade Organization.

Photo credit: thivierr