A 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization
International Day of Action 2007
Protests and European Import Bans
Believe it... know it... oppose it.
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A 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization |
International Day of Action 2007
Protests and European Import Bans
|
Believe it... know it... oppose it. |
|
ALISON AULD CP Friday, March 16, 2007 Not one harp seal has been slaughtered on the ice floes off Canada's east coast, but the transatlantic public relations slugfest over the annual hunt has already reached fever pitch. In Strasbourg, France, the European Commission restated its opposition to an immediate ban on the import of Canadian seal products yesterday, but said it would proceed with a study to determine whether the centuries-old hunt is carried out in a humane manner.
The decision came as both opponents and supporters of the hunt, which is expected to start within days, pressed ahead with competing campaigns that saw rallies in cities around the world and a Canadian delegation bringing a pro-sealing message to the Hague. Aaju Peter, an Inuk from Nunavut, travelled to the Netherlands with her son to counter "misinformation" she says has clouded people's judgment about a hunt that has attracted increasing scorn across Europe. "People have been informed by the animal rights movement and they haven't had a chance to hear the Inuit side," Peter said in an interview from the Hague, following a news conference.
"I'm worried about the effect a ban would have ... and I think it is based on misinformation." Peter said she met with a handful of anti-sealing protesters outside government buildings. The Inuit woman said she tried to persuade them that the hunt, valued at $30 million last year by the federal Fisheries Department, supports hundreds of people in eastern and northern Canada who have limited ways to make a living. "We were telling them we hunt it and we eat it because we cannot grow potatoes, we cannot grow vegetation," she said. "I think we may have begun to shift some people, but it's going to be a lot work because there are a lot of misconceptions." Peter and some Newfoundland sealers travelled to the Netherlands with the help of Canadian governments to press the point further restrictions on the import of seal products could hurt many coastal communities and aboriginal groups. Canada is also concerned a ban would block imports at European ports, preventing them from getting to market. Germany has said it will move ahead with a ban, while the Netherlands has confirmed it is also proceeding with legislation to enact a ban. Belgium was the first member of the European Union to ban the import of seal products. Italy and Luxembourg have introduced temporary bans. British Conservative John Bowis, a member of the European Parliament, said the Canadian hunt was "not worthy of a civilized country." In Canada, Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn shrugged off fears a ban would jeopardize the industry, saying other non-EU countries, such as Russia and Norway, buy the bulk of Canada's seal exports. Still, his department has stepped up efforts to counter activists who every year stage high-profile protests showing sealers using barbed clubs to kill the young animals. "Countries are starting to say it's time to push back and let people know what's really going on here, namely that the hunt is sustainable and is carried out humanely," Hearn said from St. John's, N.L. Hearn said he will welcome inspectors from the European Commission, who are expected to investigate practices at this year's hunt, due to begin at the end of this month in the Gulf of St. Lawrence before expanding to the north coast of Newfoundland. The first phase of the hunt, which usually takes place in the Gulf near the iles de la Madeleine, could be delayed or even cancelled if the wind continues to push the ice and seals into the open ocean. Meanwhile, opponents of the hunt staged modest protests in Ottawa and other Canadian cities yesterday, claiming the hunt is a cruel slaughter that serves no economic purpose. About 70 per cent of the seal pelts landed are taken from the ice floes off Newfoundland. Most of the rest come from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where many of the sealers are from Quebec, Newfoundland and elsewhere. The population of harp seals in Canada's Arctic and Atlantic regions has grown from just less than 2 million to 5.8 million harp seals in the last couple of decades, federal officials say. © The Gazette (Montreal) 2007 |
A plea to end the killing...
Martin Sheen speaks out!
