This year annual seal hunt in Canada has started at the end of March. This year’s limit has been set for 275,000 harp seals. The efforts from people around the world to end the commercial seal hunt in Canada, has reach a critical mass.
Canada’s East Coast seal hunt is the largest marine mammal hunt in the world, with an average annual kill of about 300,000 harp seals. The humane society has campaigned against the industry for the last several years, taking its fight to the major European capitals that could inflict a serious blow to the business.
Members from 27 European Union countries sat down to plead their case as the controversial hunt continues. The European Commission is awaiting a second report on seal hunts before making its recommendation a wholesale ban to the European Parliament this summer.
An earlier report found that while it is theoretically possible to kill seals rapidly and without causing avoidable pain, there is strong evidence that effective killing does not always happen in practice.
The major markets for seal skin are Russia and China. Belgium and the Netherlands have already approved legislation prohibiting the sale of seal products. Germany, Italy and Austria are drafting similar legislation, putting pressure on the European Commission to recommend a union wide ban. While EU countries are not the biggest importers of seal products, they serve as a critical shipment and manufacturing point to the larger markets of Norway, Russia and China.