EU Ban on Seal Product Imports Delayed
The European Union (EU) implemented a ban on the trade of all seal products to be effective as of 20 August 2010 but a European court has now ruled the ban should be suspended until a group of opponents, including an Inuit tribe that is heavily active in commercial seal hunting, has a chance to present their arguments in court.The European Commission responded by declaring that only the groups participating in the court case would be allowed to ship their seal furs, oils and other products to the EU. Other parts of the mostly-Canadian sealing industry would still be prohibited from exporting to the EU, the Commission said.
The EU ban is significant in that it will prohibit the trade in products from all commercial seal hunts, including those in Canada, Namibia, and Norway, while protecting sealing by Inuit and other indigenous peoples.
The court claimants include most of Canada’s seal-harvesting operations, crowed Gail Shea, the country’s fisheries minister. The EU’s General Court will rule sometime after Sept. 7. Canada also has a case against the ban pending at the World Trade Organization.