EU Officially Announces All Seal Species Trade Ban
From: Seal Alert-SA
Date: July 24, 2008
Seal Alert-SA Press Release, 23 July 2008.
Please write to Prime Minister Nahas Angula of Namibia and urge him to please announce publicly an end to his country's cruel baby seal clubbing policy, nangula@opm.gov.na .
Thank You ! It Just
Gets Better and Better, 23rd July, EU Officially Announces All Seal
Species Trade Ban
The 23rd July, is indeed an historic day in the history books for
Seal Alert-SA, a one-man Seal Protection Organization that is
backed by other like-minded individuals or partners in over 80
countries around the world.
Seal Alert-SA efforts have ensured
the protection of 15 million seals in 17 seal species around the
globe who a cruelly killed in sealing, once the EU Seal ban takes
effect.
On the 23rd July 2008, Commissioner
Stavros Dimas announced EU's proposal to ban all seal species
hunted cruelly around the world. See EU website, for press release,
EFSA study, COWI report and Socio-Economic Impact,
ec.europa.eu/environment/biodiversity/animal_welfare/seals/seal_hunting.htm.
Francois Hugo of Seal Alert-SA is
deeply thankful to EU Commission and Europeans for announcing that
this Trade Ban will now include, 30 species of
seals found in the oceans of the globe. Seal hunting
occurs year round, but the hunting season varies on the region and
the species targeted. Canada, Greenland, and Namibia account for
about 60% of the 900.000 seals hunted each year. Other countries
which hunt seals include Iceland, Norway, Russia, and the United
States, and in the European Union Sweden, Finland, and the United
Kingdom.
The regulations to ban Seal Trade will now
include 17 species which are hunted with an estimated population of
15 million seals, and which finally includes Cape fur seals.
On 23rd July 2008, Former French movie
star, Brigitte Bardot joins Seal Alert-SA in celebrating, told
Associated Press that, "She is happy the proposal includes sea
lions, which are killed in Namibia. French President Nicolas
Sarkozy has assured Bardot that "everything would be done" during
the French presidency of the European Union to adopt a law banning
imports of seal products in the EU".
Seal Alert-SA would also like to thank De
Beers Diamonds, for its invaluable support to help bring about this
ban, Namibia's largest employer and contributor to Namibia's
economy. Including all individuals and organizations too numerous
to mention in this release, each and every one of you, media
included, that have made this day possible.
What makes this monumental for Seal
Alert-SA, is that the original Written Declaration adopted by
473 MEPs throughout Europe on 15 September 2006, originally
only included a ban on imports of 2 seals, Harp and Hooded Seals.
Seal Alert-SA fought hard, even though this Declaration had been
adopted, to include all species of some 30 species of seal around
the world, including the 17 species of seal hunted, which in
effect, has now protected over 15 million seals
worldwide.
To this end, I thank the originator of the
Written Declaration, MEP Caroline Lucas for agreeing, when she
wrote to Seal Alert-SA, "We are delighted that the written
declaration has been officially adopted by the European Parliament
to ban Harp and Hooded Seals. The EU Commission is now charged with
drafting legislation that implements the ban. So, although it is
not possible to amend the text of the written declaration now that
it has been adopted, we can press the European Commission to review
the scope of the ban and include Cape fur seals, and all species of
seals around the world hunted. We are horrified that the Namibian
authorities are culling 85 000 seal pups this year - an act of
unjustified cruelty. The culls in Canada and Russia have been much
publicised but until this week we
were unaware of the plight of the Cape fur
seals. We agree any
European ban must include all seal products and will do all that we
can to help bring an end to the unnecessary and inhumane slaughter
of seal pups in Namibia".
A year ago, to the day, on the 23 rd July 2007,
the Prime Minister of Namibia Nahas Angula could have avoided this
EU 27-member country ban by simply agreeing to end its Cruel Baby
Seal Clubbing Policy in our meeting in Namibia.
The EU now joins the US, which banned Cape fur
seals imports in 1972, due to its cruelty in clubbing to death seal
pups, as per the Fishery Sealing regulations, which contradict
basic Animal Protection Act legislation.
Namibian sealers are presently herding together,
separating nursing pup from its mother, and clubbing 80 000 baby
seals to death.
Yet, still Its a great day for 15 million seals,
30 species of seal, Cape fur seals in particular and Seal Alert-SA.
We will come and save the Cape fur seals in Namibia.
Please continue to sign our online petition
at www.petitiononline.com/DPCFS/petition.html .
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA