was not enough to affect the Canadian seal hunt to a degree that would bring it to an
end. After all, since also Canada made the hunting of whitecoats illegal in 1987,
sealers and the markets for seal products had shifted from whitecoat furs to the
silvery furs of slightly older harp seals (‘beaters’; see Sect. 2.2.1). The European
Union became an important market for beater skins and large-scale processing took
place in Greece.
With the raising of the TAC to almost 1 million seals for a time period of 3 years,
public opinion, fuelled by anti-sealing organisations called for action. Canada,
however, responded by attempting to tighten its seal welfare provisions in the
MMR. To achieve this, the Independent Veterinarians’ Working Group (IVWG)
was formed to assess the animal welfare aspects of the seal hunts in 2005. The
findings of the IVWG were to be integrated into the MMR and ultimately the
so-called ‘three-step-process’, the stunning, checking and bleeding of a seal, became
mandatory under the MMR in 2009. At the same time, across the Atlantic Ocean, the
European Union also dealt with the issue of animal welfare, yet in a different
manner. By 2006, the EU’s new Action Plan on animal welfare
30 was to be adopted
and it was criticised by the European Parliament that, in light of the developments in
Canada, it did not address the issue of sealing, which would be considered as ‘cruelty
products’. As a result, the first parliamentary call for a legal response to Canadian
sealing was ushered in the form of a parliamentary declaration in September 2006,
requesting a ban on trade in seal products.
6.7.1 The Process Towards a Trade Ban
The Declaration of the European Parliament in essence reflected the overall discourse on sealing which had emerged over the last 30 or so years. Irrespective of the
conservation status of seals, which was used as a reason for adopting the Seal Pups
Directive 23 years earlier, the call for a total ban on all seal products referred to a
number of issues, which can no longer be placed in a science-based context. As
reasons for the need for a ban, the European Parliament mentions the young age of
seals, in essence therefore applying the ‘baby seal’ narrative and the associated
no-use discourse; the large number of seals that are killed, which, according to the
Declaration, reduced the seal population by two thirds in the 1950s and 1960s; the
lack of economic necessity to conduct seal hunting in the first place; and the claim of
42% of seals being skinned alive, ultimately referring to animal welfare aspects of
sealing. As in the Seal Pups Declaration, Inuit seal products were not supposed to be
affected by any trade measure.
In how far the claims brought forth in the Declaration are rooted in scientific or
other empirically testable findings is difficult to assess. However, it remains clear
that at that point, the conservation status of harp seals was no longer an issue. Several
sources, such as ICES or also the findings of the Canadian Department of Fisheries
30 European Commission (2006).
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6 The International Legal Framework for Seals
end. After all, since also Canada made the hunting of whitecoats illegal in 1987,
sealers and the markets for seal products had shifted from whitecoat furs to the
silvery furs of slightly older harp seals (‘beaters’; see Sect. 2.2.1). The European
Union became an important market for beater skins and large-scale processing took
place in Greece.
With the raising of the TAC to almost 1 million seals for a time period of 3 years,
public opinion, fuelled by anti-sealing organisations called for action. Canada,
however, responded by attempting to tighten its seal welfare provisions in the
MMR. To achieve this, the Independent Veterinarians’ Working Group (IVWG)
was formed to assess the animal welfare aspects of the seal hunts in 2005. The
findings of the IVWG were to be integrated into the MMR and ultimately the
so-called ‘three-step-process’, the stunning, checking and bleeding of a seal, became
mandatory under the MMR in 2009. At the same time, across the Atlantic Ocean, the
European Union also dealt with the issue of animal welfare, yet in a different
manner. By 2006, the EU’s new Action Plan on animal welfare
30 was to be adopted
and it was criticised by the European Parliament that, in light of the developments in
Canada, it did not address the issue of sealing, which would be considered as ‘cruelty
products’. As a result, the first parliamentary call for a legal response to Canadian
sealing was ushered in the form of a parliamentary declaration in September 2006,
requesting a ban on trade in seal products.
6.7.1 The Process Towards a Trade Ban
The Declaration of the European Parliament in essence reflected the overall discourse on sealing which had emerged over the last 30 or so years. Irrespective of the
conservation status of seals, which was used as a reason for adopting the Seal Pups
Directive 23 years earlier, the call for a total ban on all seal products referred to a
number of issues, which can no longer be placed in a science-based context. As
reasons for the need for a ban, the European Parliament mentions the young age of
seals, in essence therefore applying the ‘baby seal’ narrative and the associated
no-use discourse; the large number of seals that are killed, which, according to the
Declaration, reduced the seal population by two thirds in the 1950s and 1960s; the
lack of economic necessity to conduct seal hunting in the first place; and the claim of
42% of seals being skinned alive, ultimately referring to animal welfare aspects of
sealing. As in the Seal Pups Declaration, Inuit seal products were not supposed to be
affected by any trade measure.
In how far the claims brought forth in the Declaration are rooted in scientific or
other empirically testable findings is difficult to assess. However, it remains clear
that at that point, the conservation status of harp seals was no longer an issue. Several
sources, such as ICES or also the findings of the Canadian Department of Fisheries
30 European Commission (2006).
150
6 The International Legal Framework for Seals