Declaration Marks Critical First Step to End the Seal Trade

Dear Ana Maria,

Yesterday was a truly historic day for the seals!

I am writing from Strasbourg, France, where the European Union has just adopted a Resolution calling upon the European Commission to ban all trade in harp and hooded seal products. This is a crucial step toward achieving legislation that will save millions of seals from a horrible fate. 

The news is already spreading across Canada – now help us spread it across the world!

In the 1980s a European ban on the import of products from newborn seals brought Canada's commercial seal hunt to a virtual standstill. Tragically, the Canadian government subverted the intention of that legislation, allowing sealers to slaughter baby seals when they are just a few days older. After a brutal death, the pups' fur is traded in European fashion markets.

A European Union ban on the trade in all products from harp and hooded seals—regardless of the age of the animals—would eliminate a major market for the Canadian commercial sealing industry. 

I've witnessed horrific cruelty at the seal hunt for eight years. But yesterday was about hope. Real hope for the seals, because Europeans no longer want to provide a financial incentive for commercial seal hunts. In passing this declaration, the European Parliament is observing the will of its citizens.

The writing is clearly on the wall for the Canadian sealing industry. And from here in Strasbourg, the future looks good for the seals. 

Rebecca Aldworth
Director of Wildlife Issues
HSI Canada