Global News - July 2008

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EU looks to prevent cruelty to seals

Fri 25 July 2008 14:00 UK — Europe,Marine Wildlife

While the European commission has stopped short of banning seal products from being imported into the zone, it has moved to try to improve the way the animals are treated.

Reuters reported that EU leaders opted on Wednesday (July 23rd) to ban the import of pelts from seals that have endured excessive suffering while being killed.

As a result, only products that come with guarantees that the animals have been treated humanely will be legal in member states.

Environment commissioner Stavros Dimas explained to the news agency: "European citizens find these practices repugnant. Seal products coming from countries which practice hunting methods that involve unnecessary pain and suffering must not be allowed to enter the EU.

"It is very difficult to define what is humane. Personally, I don't like killing of any kind, but we will follow what science is telling us does not cause unnecessary pain and suffering to animals."

While none of the 15 seal species on the globe are currently listed as endangered, environmentalists have increasingly voiced concerns about how the animals are treated by hunters.

Last year, both Belgium and the Netherlands put in place their own bans on the import of seal products.

At the time, a statement from the Dutch agriculture and nature ministry said that officials were concerned about the "decline in the habitat quality of the seals and the hunting methods used".

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