Date: April 14, 2008
From: Seal Alert-SA South Africa
Seal Alert-SA, Media Release, 14 April 2008
Namibia - EU Has
Decided to Ban Seal Product Imports
Namibian
seals herded in the background, to await clubbing of 85 000
baby seal pups
The EU's environment chief Stavros Dimas will propose to ban
imports of all seal products resulting from culls where animals
suffer. The ban would apply to all seal products including
furs, skins and health products including vitamins. Canada,
Greenland and Namibia accounted for approximately 60% of all seals
killed in 2006, the according to the EFSA report.
Namibia's seal cull of 85 000
Appendix II, UN Convention in Trade of Endangered Species (CITES)
is the second largest, most cruelest and is the only sealing
country still slaughtering nursing baby seal pups.
A practice out-lawed around the world,
even by sealing countries.
Baby Cape fur seal skins were first
exported to the United States, until the US introduced specific
legislation banning these imports in 1972, due to the inhumanness
of this slaughter. Namibian sealers then moved exports to EU.
Where since Namibian independence in 1990, has grown over 700%,
from 9000 culled seal pups to 85 000, whilst the seal population
has declined by more than half.
I am extremely pleased, writes Francois
Hugo of Seal Alert-SA, that this 27-nation EU Seal Ban will
be joining the '72 US Seal Ban. It will be the
death
blow for Namibia's two-man sealing industry, and their part-time
unskilled 120 seal clubbers.
Its time these cardboard shack dwelling
'Seal Clubbers' rather protect seals than slaughter them,
and secure deceit jobs in the growing seal eco-tourism
industry that can afford them proper housing, and I challenge
government to make these opportunities available to them.
It has taken Seal Alert-SA just
under two years to bring about a full EU Seal Product Import
ban for the Cape fur seals.
The question is will the Namibian Prime
Minister publicly announce an end officially to the 'Last Baby Seal
Cull' on earth?
I trust Namibia will respond positively
before the start of the 2008 sealing season in July, as already
tourists are reporting the mass death of numerous baby seals
washing onto the beaches, the alternative would be for Seal
Alert-SA to intensify its European Tourism to Namibia
boycott.
See :
www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=443397 and
allafrica.com/stories/200801030803.html
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
27-21-790 8774
link to sealmancam
