There was good news this week for seals, courtesy of the Russian Government. Russia announced a complete ban on slaughtering seals less than one year old, thereby saving over 40,000 white-coat harp seals from slaughter in Russia.
"The bloody seal slaughter, the killing of the defenseless animals, which can't be even called a 'hunt,' is now prohibited in Russia as it is in most developed countries. It is a serious step towards the conservation of biodiversity in Russia," said Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Yuriy Trutnev.
Anti-hunting demonstrations in major Russian cities helped bring the issue to the government’s attention. The government listened to public opinion and responded by passing a law. In place of the ‘hunt’, the suggestion is to provide employment and economic opportunities via eco-tourism and other small business enterprises.
Warning graphic images below
In Canada, the world’s largest seal hunt is about to start and end with more than 275,000 baby harp seals about to be bludgeoned to death, most of them less than three months old and with no chance of escape. The ‘hunters’ are not allowed to kill seal pups less than six weeks old, no whitecoats as they are called, but can kill any seal pup as soon as the coats start to turn grey.
Canadian Senator Mac Harb tried to put forward a bill to cancel the Canadian ‘hunt’ except for aboriginal peoples, but it actually failed to find a seconder – a second member who would support the bill. It is incredible that there was not a single Canadian Senator who would agree to back the bill.
Given the Russian move on banning the slaughter of young seals and the worldwide public condemnation of the culling of the seals, one can only hope that the Canadian government also moves to ban the commercial slaughter of harp seals.
On March 2nd the European Parliament committee voted to ban seal derived merchandise from entering, crossing, or leaving, and European Union countries. The full vote to make it law is to occur on April 1st.
The rest of the world is moving forward with its own bans and soon the market for seal fur will be even smaller and hopefully, even less commercially viable.
Resources
International Fund for Animal Welfare: http://www.ifaw.org/splash.php
Harpseal information: http://www.harpseals.org/
Valerie Williams is a writer living on Salt Spring Island.
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