Conservationists do not support the campaign against the seal hunt.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) April 15, 2009 -- London, April 3: Conservation groups have joined Inuit leaders and seal hunting nations to condemn the current attempts of the European Parliament and Council of Ministers to rush through a ban on all products from the hunting of seals.

Mr Bélanger, President of Nature Quebec, affiliated to the IUCN (World Conservation Union) has written to MEPs voicing his concern: “In our view, there is no scientific basis for the international campaign waged against this activity, which has no connection with the true nature of the treatment of animals”.

WWF Canada points out that the ever-increasing population of Harp seals in the North Atlantic is currently at a near record high of more than 5 million. In Canada, the hunt is monitored by veterinarian scientists and is carried out to strict quotas. WWF Canada says that there are no conservation grounds for ending the seal hunt and that they recognise that hunting seals is an important part of the local economy, culture and heritage of many coastal communities in Atlantic Canada, the Arctic and many other maritime nations.

The European Commission’s own study by EFSA concluded that seals can be hunted humanely and many seals can be and are killed rapidly and effectively.

If the seal hunt were to end, it could cause substantial disruptions in the North Atlantic ecosystem. The survival of the Atlantic cod population would be threatened by the high level of predation caused by seals, which currently consume vastly more than commercial fishing.

Andreas Lenhart, Chairman of the International Fur Trade Federation (also a voting member of the IUCN) sums up the frustration felt by many: “If MEPs and EU member states were truly interested in animal welfare, they would vote for derogations to the ban, to create an incentive to continue to improve welfare standards.

A total ban would mean ongoing seal hunts have no reason to achieve EU welfare standards. Furthermore, vulnerable communities will suffer unnecessarily and the North Atlantic eco-system will be distressed.”