EU commission rejects appeal for ban on Canadian seal products

The European Union’s executive commission today rejected appeals for an EU-wide ban on the import of seal fur products to force the closure of Canada’s annual seal hunt.

In Brussels, the EU said a 1983 EU law which imposed limited bans on the import of fur taken from young seal pups “provides adequate response” to concerns presented by the European Parliament.

The EU assembly voted last year demanding the European Commission introduce a total ban on seal products in protest of what EU politicians called cruel and inhumane hunting tactics used to kill seal pups for their skins, notably in Canada.

In an official response sent to the politicians, the commission said reports it had seen on inhumane hunting methods were “partly contradictory”.

However, it said the EU would take “all necessary steps to ascertain the use of humane hunting standards for seals,” and take action if appropriate.

Politicians said, however, that the inaction by the EU was hypocritical as it seeks to impose a separate ban on all imports of dog and cat fur into the 27-nation bloc.