League
member of OIPA a Non Governmental Organization
Associated to the UN Department of Public
Information
HOUT
BAY HARBOUR – SOUTH AFRICA
+27-21-790 8774
4th August 2006
His
Excellency
Wibard Hellao
High Commission of the Republic of Namibia
702 Church Street
Pretoria
South Africa
Your Excellency
A
Call to End the Last Baby Seal Hunt on Earth
On July 1, Namibia started its annual harvest of 85 000 pups and
6000 bulls. Minister Abraham Iyambo of the Namibian Fisheries and
Marine Resources has stated that seals are harvested in Namibia in
accordance with Article 95 (1) of your Constitution which requires
the State to adopt policies aimed at “the utilization of living
natural resources on a sustainable basis for the benefit of all
Namibians”.
Cape fur seals have a distribution range covering Mozambique, South
Africa, Namibia and Angola. Seals are currently protected under the
United Nations of CITES as an Appendix II species. In South Africa
under the Seabirds and Seals Protection Act No.46 of 1973.
The findings of the Public Protector of South Africa in his report
No. 51 released 15th November 2005 states,
“The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has a
constitutional obligation to protect and promote the conservation
of South Africa’s seal resource”.
The Namibian 2006 seal pup production is according to Minister
Iyambo is 27% below pre-1993 population levels and this year’s TAC
(Total Allowable Catch) pup quota is 68% higher than 1994
quota.
Since Namibia’s independence in 1990 – the Cape fur seals in
Namibia have experienced mass die-off’s from starvation and or
disease in 1994, 1995, 2000 and 2001, and in 2006 have still not
recovered.
It is therefore on this basis that the harvest of seals is no
longer being conducted on a sustainable basis under your
Constitution and we are therefore calling for an immediate end to
the Seal Harvest in Namibia as it is now in direct conflict with
our Constitution in South Africa.
Seal Alert-SA would like to bring the following to your attention
:-
•
In 2000
with the Seal population 10% lower than pre-1993. Namibia doubled
its sealing quota to 60 000 pups and 7000 bulls. One month after
the sealing season had ended which runs from August 1 to November
15. Minister Iyambo announced that the seals had suffered their
highest mass die-off to date where 300 000 seals had starved to
death. Involving one third to one half of the seal
population.
•
In 2001,
Minister Iyambo announced he was lengthening the sealing season to
July 1 and I quote “This is because past experiences indicate that
the season was not long enough for concessionaires to fully harvest
their TAC and I have decided that this TAC should be a 3 year
rolling TAC”.
•
In 2002,
Namibia exported 117 400 seal skins on a sealing quota of 60 000.
As per CITES Animal Committee Namibia has not applied for an export
permit on this taxon. 5000 raw Cape fur seal skins were seized by
US NOAA officials that were illegally imported into the US from
Namibia.
•
In 2003, a
South African was convicted of importing two consignments of Cape
fur seal skins from Namibia and received a R10 000 fine or 10
months in prison.
•
In 2004, at
the 20th Meeting of the CITES
Animal Committee Meeting, it was decided to put Namibia under
review in a “Review of Significant Trade”. (See attached
table)
•
•
I refer you
to clause 1 of Appendix II specimens – “An export permit
certificate issued by the Management Authority of the State. An
export permit may be issued only if the specimen was legally
obtained and if the export will not be detrimental to the survival
of the species”.
•
In 2005,
Minister Iyambo further increased the Sealing TAC to 65 000
pups.
•
During a
recent “question and answer” session arranged by the Ministry of
Fisheries in Namibia. Minister Iyambo stated pups between the ages
of 7 to 9 months are harvested. In 2000, Dr Burger Oelofsen of the
Namibian Fisheries stated and I quote, “Females suckle their pups
on the colonies from birth to weaning. This is a period of about 10
months”.
•
In 1972,
the US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) banned the import of all
Cape fur seal skins as it contravenes their regulations which
states, “the taking of a nursing pup is inhumane”. This was further
validated by the US Appeal Court in 1977. Since 1987, the world’s
sealing nations of Canada, Norway, Greenland and Russia, has banned
the “taking of nursing pups in birthing or breeding
grounds”.
Seal Alert-SA is therefore supported in this call to “End the Last
Baby Seal Hunt on Earth” by over 12 million supporters from
organizations and individuals in over 140 countries around the
world.
As founder of Seal Alert-SA I respectfully urge you to bring these
concerns to the attention of the Namibian Government and to support
our call for an immediate end to the Namibian Seal Harvest in
2006.
I attach the following letters of support. Save our Seals UK,
International Doctors –LIMAV and OIPA International and the Humane
Society of the United States and its international arm, Humane
Society International (HSUS/HIS)
For the Seals
Francois Hugo
Seal Alert-SA