IMCO Votes on Seal Ban Proposal 2^nd March

A ban would save millions of animals from suffering. © Brian Skerry/HSI

24^th February 2009

As the European elections draw closer, Europe’s voters are watching the European Parliament, hoping it will do the right thing and vote for a comprehensive ban on trade in seal products (like furs and oils). Four hundred and twenty five MEPs signed a Written Declaration to end seal product trade in 2006. Now, they have the chance to turn that demand into action.

European citizens have called for decades for an end to the trade because commercial seal slaughter is inherently inhumane. As such, the only way to stop the cruelty is to stop the trade. The point of stopping trade is to defend the principle that Europe should not be a market for the products derived from seals slaughtered in horrendously cruel ways. Adopting a full ban on trade does not prevent subsistence hunting by traditional Inuit populations, nor restrict seal population control programmes.

The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee will vote on a report and proposed amendments on 2^nd March. Like most of Europe’s voters, we urge committee members to vote for a strong prohibition on seal product trade.

Unfortunately, there are some parliamentarians who are working to undermine this initiative. Parliament’s rapporteur Diana Wallis (UK-ALDE) has put forward a set of amendments that would reduce the proposed ban to a toothless labelling scheme—one that would mislead consumers and actually promote the trade in products of cruelty.

In doing so, she has strayed far from the proposal’s core intention, which is to ensure that member states have coherent, harmonised rules that do not create barriers to trade within in the EU’s internal market, on the knowledge that many countries do, indeed, want a full ban. Nine European Union Member States have already prohibited seal product trade or announced their intentions to do so. No Member State has adopted the type of labelling scheme now being suggested, which is just one reason the European Commission dismissed labelling as a legislative option. Acceptance of Wallis’ proposals would require some countries to relax existing prohibitions.

More than 50 animal protection groups in the European Union, representing tens of millions of individuals, are calling for an unconditional prohibition on seal product trade. View HSI's advertisement [PDF].

In this election year, MEPs have a historic opportunity to bring in a piece of robust, compassionate legislation that would reflect the clear views of their constituents. While many members have been lobbied by foreign governments and sealing industry apologists, it would be a tragedy if these vested interests were allowed to prevail over European public opinion. 

Update: 2^nd March, 2009—The Internal Markets and Consumer Protection committee of the European Parliament voted in favour of a strong ban on trade in seal products. IMCO’s Opinion will be put forward to the full plenary in the coming weeks. While there is still a long way to go, this is a landmark victory that clearly establishes the will of the European Parliament to ban seal product trade.