Canada’s annual seal cull has been brought under the E.U. spotlight this year by World Wildlife Fund campaigners, with reports of a possible trade sanction being put into place. Every year 275,000 seals are shot or bludgeoned with hakapiks, then skinned for their fur. The W.W.F. is claiming that a large majority of the culled seals are not being killed outright by these methods, thus leaving them to be skinned alive.
The Canadian Government is now advising sealers to check the pupils of each creature for blinking reflex, and to slit the artery below the flipper before the skinning process. The sealers must also now sign an agreement with the International Veterinarians’ Working Group to address the complaints of cruelty that are being raised.
Any E.U sanction would be gratefully received in Belgium and Holland, who have already banned the handling of any seal related products. Plus with Italy, Germany and Austria on the verge of joining them, a complete E.U ban would have a dramatic effect on the livelihoods of Canadian coastal communities. The sealing industry is worth over £10million a year, with the fur reaching countries such as Russia and China through European ports.
Please post comments below this article and we will forward them on to the Department of Fisheries in Ottawa, Canada, so we can show our disdain at this cruel and unnecessary practice.
