Vote Yes! This Week—Ban the Trade in Seal Products in the EU

4^th May 2009

It was more than four decades ago that the cruelty of commercial seal slaughters first made headlines in the European Union. As images of baby seals being clubbed and shot to death for their fur filtered into European media, many Europeans were horrified to learn that the EU was a major market for the products of this brutality.

	Your vote is critical. Stop the trade. End the cruelty. © HSI

Since that time, European citizens have consistently tried to end their trade in seal products. In the 1980s, a ban on trade in skins of newborn harp seals and hooded seal pups temporarily seemed to accomplish this goal—but sadly, the sealing industry circumvented the law by killing the baby seals when they were just a few days older.

Today, nearly one million seals are slaughtered annually in commercial seal kills around the world, and the products of those slaughters (primarily fur) are legally traded in the EU.

This week, MEPs have a historic chance to complete unfinished business and stop this trade in cruelty forever.

Nearly three years ago, 425 MEPs signed a Written Declaration calling upon the Commission to immediately introduce strong legislation to ban trade in seal products, with an exemption for products of subsistence Inuit hunts. At the same time, the Council of Europe passed its own resolution, urging its 46 Member States to promote initiatives aimed at banning the trade in seal products.

The Commission produced its proposal in July 2008 and, on 2^nd March this year, the EP Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee (IMCO) voted overwhelmingly in favour of a full ban on seal product trade.

At the COREPER meeting on 27^th March 2009, a clear qualified majority of member states declared their intention to support the proposal for a strong ban. On 24^th April, COREPER agreed to conclude a first reading agreement with the European Parliament following successful trilogue negotiations, which resulted in a compromise text which MEPs will vote on during this plenary session.

Closing a Key Market

If the Parliament votes for the agreed-on proposal, it will close a key market for the global sealing industry, including for the Canadian commercial seal slaughter—the largest kill of marine mammals on the planet.

In doing this, the Parliament would echo the will of nine EU Member States (Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Slovenia, Luxembourg) which have already prohibited their trade in seal products or announced their intentions to do so. Moreover, it would join the United States, which banned trade in seal products in 1972, and Mexico and Croatia, which followed suit in 2006.

Package of Amendments

We are asking you to vote for the package of amendments signed by Arlene McCarthy (on behalf of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection), Diana Wallis (on behalf of ALDE Group), Malcolm Harbour (on behalf of the EPP-ED Group), Christel Schaldemose (on behalf of the PSE Group), Heide Ruhle (on behalf of the Greens/EFE Group) and Eva-Britt Svensson (on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group).

Unfortunately, some MEPs have put forward other amendments that would undermine the intent of the legislation, and we are asking you to vote against those amendments.

It is crucial that the vast majority of MEPs support the proposed amendments that have been agreed upon by the three EU institutions, and make history by achieving agreement in first reading.

The proposed legislation meets the expectations of millions of Europeans, MEPs, and a Qualified Majority of EU Member States, who all agree the only way to stop the cruelty is to stop these products from being placed on the EU market.

The world is watching; your vote is critical.

On behalf of what Europeans stand for, please end the cruelty. Vote for a strong prohibition on seal product trade!

MEPs! MAKE HISTORY: STOP THE TRADE. END THE CRUELTY.