CTV.ca News Staff

Demonstrations for and against the annual seal hunt were held in cities across Canada Thursday, the same day the European Parliament called for an EU-wide ban on the import of seal products.

Under pressure from the European Parliament, the European Union (EU) has ordered a study to assess the welfare of seals and will be sending an inspection mission to a seal hunt in Canada.

Many EU legislators have blasted what they see as inhumane hunting tactics used to kill seal pups for their skins.

Animal rights demonstrators smeared with fake blood, protest against Canada's annual seal hunt in front of a Canadian flag in Madrid on Thursday on International Day of Action Against Seal Hunting. (AP / Paul White)

However, the European Commission said Thursday "there is no scientific evidence'' of serious damage as a result of seal hunting.

"There must be a proper impact study before any action can be taken,'' EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told the European Parliament.

"If it is established seals are hunted in an inhuman way, a ban on export and the marketing of seal products will be considered.''

The EU head office has said a 1983 EU law that outlines limited bans on the import of fur taken from seal pups "provides adequate response'' to the concerns of the European Parliament.

EU rules ban seal products from harp seals less than 12 days old and on hooded seals less than one year old.

The Commission said the population of seals in Canada's Arctic and Atlantic regions "has grown significantly'' in the last three decades -- from just under two million to 5.8 million harp seals alone.

The Commission also said that the seals were not listed as endangered species and that their population is not under threat.

But legislators have said the EU's inaction was hypocritical as it seeks a separate ban on all imports of dog and cat fur into the 27-member bloc.

Reaction in Canada

Meanwhile, dozens of protesters in support of and against the annual seal harvest marched Thursday in front of the steps on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Demonstrators from the Fourrure Torture animal liberation group, or Fur Torture group, protest against seal hunting in Canada on Thursday near the Canadian embassy in Paris. Protestors denounced 'cruel and inhumane' hunting tactics used to kill seal pups for their skins, even though it is prohibited in Canada to hunt seal pups. (AP / Michel Euler)

"I watched as conscious baby seals were hooked with metal spikes and dragged across the ice floes, struggling," said Rebecca Alworth, an anti-sealing protester from Newfoundland, through a megaphone -- as others carrying signs with slogans reading "Shame on the baby killers" looked on.

Hunt supporters, meanwhile, including those from Canada's Inuit communities, said anti-sealers are misinforming the public about a vital industry.

"What bothers me the most is that somebody who perhaps doesn't understand the full picture ... would interfere with a way of life that is very respectful and is very true to who we are," a hunt supporter from Cornerbrook, N.L. told CTV.

"We usually don't kill the babies, we usually kill the adult harp seals," said Kerrie Tatturinee as she held a sign reading "Stop cultural prejudice."

Meanwhile, federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn, a Newfoundlander and a defender of the seal hunt, has decided to launch his own series of pro-hunt protests.

Karen Orr, of the Sea Shepherd Group of Calgary holds a sign for passing motorist during a rally to draw attention to the annual seal hunt, March 15, 2007, in front of federal government offices in Calgary. (CP / Jeff McIntosh)

Hearn said the six millions harp seals on the Newfoundland coast could have a dramatic effect on the world's food chain if the herd's numbers were not controlled by the hunt.

"Just during the week, calculations done on the amount of fish eaten by the seal heard harp seal heard alone ... would fill 175,000 tractor trailers, which on the highway would extend from New York to Los Angeles and back to Texas," Hearn told CTV.

"Now if you can picture that, that's the amount of fish eaten each year by the seals off our coast."

Newfoundland valued the seal hunt at $55 million to the province's economy last year, and Hearn said it's vital for families in remote communities where the seal hunt can make up one third of their annual income.

With a report from NTV News