CTV News Montreal

Updated: Tue May. 05 2009 7:20:44 PM

CTV.ca News Staff

The Canadian government will challenge a proposed European ban on sealing products which would result in "a very serious blow to the industry," International Trade Minister Stockwell Day said Tuesday.

The EU ban will likely become law by the end of June, at which point, Ottawa will quickly respond with an appeal to the World Trade Organization, Day told reporters in Prague Tuesday, where he's attending free trade talks with European leaders.

The contentious bill, which passed on Tuesday with 550 votes in favour to 49 against, calls commercial seal hunting "inherently inhumane."

"We plan to do that, because the vote is not based on the fact Canada follows international guidelines and best practices regarding the seal hunt," Day said.

Day added that Canada should be exempt from the ban on the grounds that the seal hunt in Atlantic Canada is humane and sustainable.

He also said the proposed ban could devastate small Canadian communities on the east coast that depend on the seal hunt for at least a quarter of their annual income.

"If you're one of the 6,000 families who are being affected, you would call it disastrous, and that's what it is," said Day.

All 27-member governments of the European Union are expected to endorse the ban in the coming weeks, which will likely ensure that the restrictions are in place before next year's seal hunt.

Liberal MP Gerry Byrne said Prime Minister Stephen Harper needs to stick up for the country's sealers, who have been dealt a crippling blow by the ban, which may even be illegal.

"The international trade community all agree that this EU ban is illegal," he said in a brief phone interview on Tuesday morning.

"Where was the prime minister three weeks ago?" asked Byrne, referring to when the prime minister attended the most recent G20 meeting in London.

He said the prime minister should have pushed Canada's European colleagues to "denounce the illegal trade action" that will ban the import of Canadian seal products.

Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea blamed the ban on special interest groups who have misled the European public with an aggressive public relations campaign over the past few years.

For example, Shea said anti-sealing activists have used images of bloodied seal pups to shock Europeans, despite the fact that "Canada has not killed a white seal pup in over 20 years."

Shea noted that high-profile activists like Brigitte Bardot have also dealt the seal hunt a punishing blow in the court of public opinion.

"Politicians will tell you privately that this isn't a decision based on fact, this is a decision based on emotion," Shea told reporters in Ottawa Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the fisheries minister of Newfoundland and Labrador also called on Harper to take action against the seal ban.

Tom Hedderson said the prime minister should make a retraction of the seal ban a condition of trade talks in Prague this week.

Critics of hunt call ban 'tremendous victory'

Long-time critics of the sealing practice in Canada, however, were pleased to see the bill go through the European Parliament.

Rebecca Aldworth, with the Canadian branch of the Humane Society International, called the bill's passage a "tremendous victory."

Inuit communities from Canada and Greenland are exempted in the bill but they still cannot engage in large-scale trading of seal products in Europe.

Another exemption allows for "small-scale hunts" to control the seal population.

But Inuit groups are still concerned how the ban may affect their livelihood.

Joshua Kango, who heads the Nunavut-based Amarok hunters and trappers association, said the ban "is definitely going to impact the lives of the Inuit in the very near future."

"We don't have any other way to survive economically," he told The Associated Press.

Russia, China and Norway will also be affected by the ban but the Canadian industry, the largest in the world, is expected to be hit the hardest.

Canada and Norway have said they will contest the ban before the World Trade Organization.

Ottawa estimates that the ban will cost some 6,000 sealers in Canada about half of their annual $13 million in revenue.

Already, this year's commercial seal hunt was very quiet as harp seal pelt prices have dropped significantly over the last three years.

Only 306 sealing enterprises from Newfoundland and Labrador took part in this year's hunt, compared with 977 last year, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans confirmed.

"For the Newfoundland and Labrador sealers, the seal hunt this year has gone very slowly compared to other years," Larry Yetman, a resource management officer with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, told The Canadian Press.

EU ban result of public opinion, says official

Diana Wallis, Vice President of the European Parliament, said the ban is the result of sweeping public opinion.

"There are many, many people across the European Union and they have been lobbying us very hard to say, they do not wish to see the products of the seal hunt being sold on Europe's market," she told CTV Newsnet in a telephone interview from Strasbourg, France.

"I'm afraid that we have had to listen to them and we have had to act accordingly."

Wallis added that the European ban takes into account both the traditional Inuit hunt and hunting for the purposes of conserving depleted cod stocks.

"We have indicated that where seals are killed on the basis of sustainability the products of that hunt may enter our market, as long as it has not been done for commercial purposes."

Liberal Sen. Mac Harb, the only Member of Parliament who opposes the seal hunt, said he was pleased with the EU ban.

But he expressed disappointment that the government plans to mount a legal challenge to the WTO that will cost millions of dollars and has little chance of success.

"I'm disappointed because the government of Canada has no action plan to support these sealers, who now, they are going to find themselves without a market," he told CTV's Power Play on Tuesday.

With files from The Canadian Press

Comments are now closed for this story

Reece
"Yes God did give us the right over animals. We are not here to torture or kill them inhumanely. But we do have the power over animals. And that includes seals. God put animals on this earth for us humans to use."

Oh my goodness! I hope that Harper and his people go before the WTO and argues that the god(s) gave him the right to a seal hunt blah blah blah - I would insist on televising this on tv so we can all have a good hearty laugh over it.

God? LOL!

Greg
I am disappointed that our government continues to ignore the wishes of most Canadians along with world opinion that the seal hunt needs to end.

NB
Let's celebrate the ban! Pass the Italian cheese, French wine and Belgian chocolates!

Nowonder
I am sure the EU and the WTO are shaking in their pants.

Don
The seal hunt sucks. Don't fight the ban on sealing products. If Canada wants to just get even with Europe, then fine. Ban something from Europe.

XB70Playboy
For all of you that say "It's now time for us to ban European products." You can't have your cake and eat it too. The Canadian government has rejected attempts from foreign companies to buy shares in your airlines, AND you have also recently announced the largest road construction project in Canadian history, in which bids from foreign companies to participate have also been rejected. I see the same False Comments seal hunt spew, here on the CTV article that I debunk on my Youtube channel.

Nanaimo Bruce
In relation to contemporary budgets, $13 million is pocket change. The cost of disputing this will likely cost far more. It would make more sense to pay the hunters the equivalent to not hunt, as farmers in other jurisdictions have been paid to take product out of production.

Jack W. Cates
This is the BEST news ever for Canada!!! Ending the SEAL SLAUGHTER will inprove the world, Canada & Newfoundland, they can start to build a tourist trade that will put money into Newfoundland, Thank God for the EU, Jack W. Cates, Calgary

William Chemko
The United States banned the import of seal products in 1972. Where are the protests against that action.

The EU banned the import of whitecoat seal pelts in 1982. Finally, they have taken the action they should have done in 1982.

Any action to the WTO will take at least a decade, cost many more millions of Canadian taxpayer dollars and will accomplish nothing.

Fur is dead. It is not considered fashionable to wear fur anymore. Thrift shops across North America such as Goodwill and The Salvation Army are full of fur coats no longer wanted.

Most Canadians are ashamed, embarassed and angry the slaughter has lasted as long as it has

KGP
Stephanie in Calgary

Firstly... Have you considered the human impact on the environment? Humans for better or for worse have affected CARRYING CAPACITY of all species. And our government allowing overfishing in our waters while leaving nothing for our own citizens has diminished the CARRYING CAPACITY of many communities who have relied on these resources. The false imagery used to turn the stupid against the seal hunt is flagrantly misleading. And you are clearly unwilling or unable to consider all the facts, upto and including the human cost of the human hunt that is going on these days (last years)


Secondly if you know how the seals were killed and not just what it looked like years ago in a propaganda film or from what you have been told by "true believers" you would actually recognize the similarities.


Thirdly if you remove a predator to species the CARRYING CAPACITY of that eco system goes up, cut seal quotas, and the population increases and what do they eat? You probably guessed wrong... they eat Cod. now you remove a predator to the cod and you've got a pretty large seal population.
Fourth the abundance of lobster has lowered prices dramatically and fisher people can't even afford to fish for lobster they can't even cover their costs and I'm not aware of a correlation between cod and lobster populations
Fifthly NO ONE CLUBS BABY SEALS
Sixthly You need to do better homework.

Jake
Isn't it just great to have Liberal Senator Mac Harb do his part to insure that the seal hunt would come to an end. Now he is shooting his big Liberal mouth off demanding that the Government DO something to help those affected by this ban that he supported. And now, Mac Harb hasn't even got the spine to speak to his Liberal Colleagues. Please don't be angry by what Harper hasn't done for you, be grateful for what the liberals HAVE done for you, and get used to it, this is how the liberals operate.

YR
I think it's great that the European Union finally put a ban on seal products. Times are changing and for good.
Canada has to get on the boat and stop the commercial seal hunt once and for all.

Kudos EU !!!

Andrew, From Ontario
Canada needs to stand up for our rights. We CAN NOT let the Eu push us around. This is protectionism, what will it be next, No Canadian beef? The ban is silly and defies all aspects of free trade. If they don't want free trade i say don't give it to them. Stop buying products from the 27 Eu countries.

This is not a question of the hunt. If people feel bad about the hunt, then don't buy seal products. Simply economics, no demand no hunt.

We just can't let Europe define and shape our country. That is our job. So stand up for Canada Mr. Harper and do not let them ban our products. If they say they want free trade the nit has to be FREE TRADE!!!!

Dunny from Manotick
This is nothing more than the unelected EU parliament caving into the vocal minority enacting a new law that takes away EU citizens right to choose. It's almost funny to watch the citizens of the EU applaud when they lose their own freedom. It's an amazing con job pulled off the the activists.

How is Foie Gras made???
Thats okay on the EU decision. Now it's a competition who or what can overfish the east coast..The EU [ie Spain/Portugal] or the seals....the seals will most likely win.....

chuck
Wait for it. The seals are already invading the east coast of the USA. When the people of Maine look out to sea and see millions of seals, the USA will take charge and solve our problem.

The Hunt Is On
Europeans are as arrogant and ignorant as Americans are, in fact they're even worse.

They feel as if they are the do all and end all in the world and their moral values are some how, superior to ours.

The seal hunt should stay, it is part of our heritage and is also a way of life for many.

Europe should talk about being inhumane. Are there countries within the EU who are guilty of genocide in recent history? Do the Germans remember about what they did to the Jews or what the Croatians did to the Serbs in Croatia and in the Balkans. The list goes on and on.

And Europe wants to negotiate free trade with Canada so it can get at our natural resources and continue to pollute, which I might add, their eastern members are probably one of the worst culprits in the world.

newcomer
The arguments, for and against sealing, sound very much to be to be the same arguments for and against slavery 150 years ago.

Joel Parkes
I lived in England for eight years and it was quite remarkable to see how many Europeans hated our seal hunt. For many people outside of Canada, it defines us. The question has to be asked; does protection of this annual ritual help or hinder international relations?

Peterborough, Ontario

BMM
This is feel good issue for the EU that is not based in logic or science. These ill informed do-gooder morons in the EU have not saved the life of one seal by invoking this ban. The fact is that the Cdn govt will now have to hire the sealers to cull the herds anyway. This must be done to prevent the extinction of cod. Even with the current hunt quotas the seals consume an unsustainable 1.6 B tons of each year, and to prevent disease in the seal herds from inbreeding and eventual extinction once the cod is depleted. But it plays well for the upcoming EU elections.

Disgusted with Activists
Killing bulls in Spain for sport, Goose liver pate in France, never mind the killing of baby lambs, overfishing in Canadian waters. What hypocrites. This has nothing to do with cruelty to animals, it has everything to do with the misinformed activists. The more they can stir up, the more money they make. It's all about money for the activists.

Bob
I didn't realise the people of Europe had to rely on the EU to make decisions for them. I guess they're too feable minded to decide for themselves whether or not to buy something related to Seal fur, etc. Good thing they have a Continental body to run their lives for them.
Bob from Victoria.

Cindy
For me hunting is hunting...it's not my thing but I understand the reasons for it.What I think is cruel is the number of sea birds and shore birds that are killed everyday because of illegal dumping at sea. These birds suffer horribly and take days to die. Now that's a real outrage!

R NS
Reece
As absurb as your thinking is...you have a right to it...as long as you eat no meat or no fish yourself.
Anyone who eats any meat or fish, and is against the seal hunt, is a hyproctite.
With a handle like Recce, one would think you would be less of a left wing loonie...just a thought.

Jim
R%eece
"@jt

"Reece
Are you putting a seals life before a humans."

I don't know, did a God(s) send you a fax or email that gives us humans a special right over non-verbal animals?"

Nope, just good sharp teeth to tear the flesh and opposable thumbs to hold the club.

"Jake Hyslop, UK
Thank god my MEP's have finally done this.
Shame on Canada.
Shame on Thee"

Shame yourself. Why don't you speak out against the 6,500 fur farms in the EU that slaughter millions of mink, fox, etc. every year. I'm sure they love living a life stuffed in a cage until they are slaughtered for their fur alone. Disgusting.

Shelley
Many commercial practices which were inhumane and cruel or bad for the environment or dangerous to workers, or children, have been outlawed over the decades and centuries, even though they may have made money for a certain sector of the population. This is the evolution of civilization. The way we treat those who are less powerful than ourselves demonstrates our growth as a society and as a world. Thank-you to the Europeans for taking a big step in the right direction. Shame on our government for perpetuating the annual barbarism of the seal hunt.

Brian from Saskatchewan
When will Canada wake up and realize that most of the world deplores the seal hunt and close it?

Dave in Cornwall
Ok...We will ban the seal hunt forthwith...it really is a pity thet look soooooo cute.....
Mebbe if they looked like a 150 llb Cockroach the Europeans would actually be coming to our shores to purchase licenses and take part in the hunt!

As we are terminating the cruel and inhumane seal hunt then it is only fair that other European countries stop anything we may deem as cruel to animals,such as....

1. Foxhunting in UK...calling a dozen or so total twits on horseback and their hounds ripping a young fox to shreds in the name of "Sport" seems even worse than anything done to a seal for commercial reasons.

2.Bullfighting....Spain will have to forgo it's little entertainment slowly killing a bull in order for the kiddies to see what real men do to entertain themselves.Although Portugal does not actually kill the bull I think their version of this prolly causes the Bull intense trauma so should also be banned.

3.Foie Gras.That wonderful French delicacy that actually means "swollen liver" caused by forcing food down a gooses throat with a plunger while the goose is tied up...nothing cruel about this,is there folks? French claim the goose even enjoys it

I dare say there are many,many other things going on that could and should be listed here but will be overlooked as Canada once again puts it's tail between it's legs and shuffles off mumbling apologies to one and all....

It's not as if banning the seal hunt would cause great economic hardship in the East coast, because as has been stated it seems Canada spends far more money in defence of the hunt that it actually profits from by having the hunt continue every year

Ah! Well!

Rod (Calgary)
I agree that is all about emotion. One point for Rob though. The federal government did not sign the hydro deal that took NFLD power and gave it to Quebec -Joey Smallwood the Premier of NFLD did that.

I guess the ban of British Fox hunts, Spanish bulls, etc. should be next to the fluffy white seal pups that animal rights groups are after. No wait they are in Europe so that doesn't count. What a load of you know what!

I don't think anyone wins from a trade war but these EU Parlimentarians must be held accountable for their actions. No more European wines for this consumer. I hope the PM goes after these countries or the EU. The science of this is that the killing is humane and their is an over population of the seals.

J.J.
Exactly what has the industry done, in terms of enlightning the average Euro citizen, that it's not the doe-eyed pup being clubbed to death. Quite frankly, I still have that image in my mind from back when they were lobbying to stop the hunt. Not an easy image to forget. That being said, this is an issue that requires an aggressive public relations campaign in the other direction. It's the public they have to convince, of which the politicians take their cue.

AT in Montreal
To Matt in Ontario:
I don't think it's about killing the seals, it's more about HOW the kill the seal. They beat them to death with a club and a nail, sometimes not killing them , wounding them to die a slow and painful death. If it was done more humanely, maybe it would be more acceptable...maybe

Ian
James T. talk about a riduculous comment. Those wars were called World wars for a reason. If there had not been a contribution from countries outside of Europe, you likely would have never even had the opportunity to post your comments since free speech would be illegal and punishable by imprisonment! If Europe or any other country wants to ban Canadian Seals, that's their business. We will have to start banning things that we disagree with that's all. Paté de fois gras from France, lamb from New Zealand, haggis from Scotland, disgusting mold ridden cheeses from Germany, anything from Scandinavia, except maybe Volvo cars and Vodka. The government of NFLD can do its part by prohibiting the clubbing of seals upside the head, which would do a heck of alot towards improving the image of the barbaric seal hunter.

George Poole in Lunenburg
the nature prohibitionists in Ontario and Quebec should stay the hell out of this it's none of their business, it's none of Europes business either. Ontario and Quebec and the nature prohibitionists have a paternalistic attitude towards the Atlantic provinces if they have ever even heard of them - yes snicker up your sleeves at us Ignorant cusses.

Harv
to R%eece
@jt

Yes God did give us the right over animals. We are not here to torture or kill them inhumanely. But we do have the power over animals. And that includes seals. God put animals on this earth for us humans to use. And if that means killing seals for the Inuit people to make a living, so be it. Maybe you should read your Bible. And cows for milk and chickens to BBQ as well as pork. So go eat your veggies and let us meatatarians eat our beef!

Products Made From Seals
Products made from seals: fur; meat sold to the Asian pet food market, and used as silage; and blubber used to make seal oil, a fish oil supplement.

How will the world do without these things?

Oh, yeah. Fur is the #1 product and, of course, the reason they club the seals in the head is so that they don't damage the pelt. In most cases the seals are only rendered unconscious when they are skinned because sealers can't wait until they are dead to move on to their next victim.

Jessica
Shame on Canada...the seal hunt truly makes me embarassed to be Canadian. I hope the ban stays!!

Ted
Had seals been an ugly fish, no one would care. There are so many seals now that they eat all the fish and polute the waters with their excrement. Of course you won't hear anything about that.

Martin - Edmonton
Lets get some videos from the EU clubbing Lambs. Im sure its totally different though...

Ian
I don't agree with the seal hunt because I don't believe the sealers who claim that it is done humanely. I think they still use the hackapik (sic) even though they claim they don't anymore. Having said that I think that the countries that are banning seal products are the same ones that promote bull fighting, which is grossly inhumane and the fox hunt, among other barbaric "cultural" events. Our government cannot get into a trade war with the rest of the world, but we should perhaps start looking at banning products from 3rd world countries like China that have wound up containing hazardous materials like melamine which have cause death and illness in not only humans, but in our pets as well.

Matt
Reece
Fishing is far less humane than seal hunting, so we should stop fishing too.

You claim fish are not self-aware or intelligent. I didn't realize that humane treatment was reserved for for only self aware and intelligent animals. I would think that a caring person would attempt to treat all animals capable of feeling pain in the most humane manner feasible.

As far as eating other animals, if that is what people want, why not? People already do eat many cute and cuddly animals.

Ski
Dear Canada:
By all means, "Ban Away"!
So sorry to burst your swelled egos, but Canada is just a drop in the bucket of world trade. Please feel free to ban all things from the EU. It will be YOUR loss, not the EU's!

Jayme
Andy
Give me a break i am tired and have been working alot.

Jeff in Halifax
TO REECE

Recognise sarcasm

the world will not stop eating fish

DUH

and how do you know they are not self aware

Slavko (Kitchener, Ontario)
I HOPE THIS NEW LAW WILL BE AMENDED TO ALLOW THE ABORIGINALS THE RIGHT TO TAKE OVER THE SEAL-HUNT TRADE IN THE EUROPEAN MARKET BECAUSE THEY TOO HAVE A RIGHT TO THE GLOBAL MARKET!

If not, then what do city dwellers think the seal hunters should do?

Capture the seals nicely then take them to a chicken slaughter house stress-free, and then slice their heads off without pain?

The only way to do that is to allow seal hunters to farm their own seals with the permission of green-house-gas-produced-polyester-wearing, vegetarian eating, inefficient city dwelling, bookworm educated, non-job creating, 1960s raised era “idealists”.

Let’s be economically honest here, is the European fashion house charging too much for seal skin clothing? The Europeans are notorious for meddling and ruining other country's society and inflaming hatred! The aboriginals should be allowed to take over this seal hunt trade for the European markets, if not then ban the seal-eating polar bears!

What is the source of income for these Canadians that went to Europe to ban import of Canadian seal products?

Let me tell you something about Canada's trade with Europe- its not much! Fives days of US-Canada trade on the Ambassador bridge alone is equivalent to the entire year's trade with Europe!

This passage of anti-aboriginal European law, with the advocacy of Canadians in Europe, is a shame to Canada! It's an economic strangle hold on the aboriginals! It is a direct attack on aboriginal Canadians! It is a bigoted European white-collar crime in my view, and psychiatric diagnosis! Grow up!

Slavko
Kitchener, Ontario

Pam Dugal
This is great news!! The seals are not overpopulated. Huge fishing boats are responsible for the depleting fish. It always seems to be the old overpopulated theory to make people believe it is okay to murder all these innocent animals. Everyone knows it is humans that over fish .

Reece
"STOP FISHING ITS INHUMANE"

Fish are not self-aware nor intelligent. Your argument fails in a spectacuar fashion.

Let's put it this way, if you see nothing wrong with eating seals, then you shouldn't have a problem with St Bernard Stew or eating cats and monkeys. Seal hunting is Canada's shame for a good reason. You failing to understand self-aware animals means you are narrow minded. Period.

Jake Hyslop, UK
Thank god my MEP's have finally done this.
Shame on Canada.
Shame on Thee

Karen in Ottawa
Full marks to both Rogerottawa and Retired Soldier in Kingston. I agree completely with their remarks.

And the government should be investing in alternative economic initiatives for the region in question, instead of wasting the money on legal fees, and the like. Come on Canada, get over it, and move forward!

GUTSHOT! in Thunder Bay
Who cares what Europe thinks?

Didnt people leave Europe because they wanted something better? Heres a chance for Canada to remain "better", and tell the EU to go pound sand.

People need to realize the importance of hunting and the cirlce of life that nature has provided. Thats kinda hard to do from your office chair in Toronto though. Some of us skin, gut ,and eat moose, while others just cry about hunting because they dont know any better.

Claudia
I hope the ban gets enforced, this is a barbaric practice which should have ended a long time ago. I'm vegetarian so I care for all animals. This bill is a Victory, we should ALL work towards being a little more humane & working towards a more ethical world with less needless suffering. I have read some of the other comments - it's true, people don't outcry much about slaughter houses, the horrible practices in factory farming etc and they should....but at least the seal hunt has a spotlight on it for now and people are sitting up and taking notice.It is a real step forward.

Andy
@Jayme
First:
So you have been up to the arctic etc... Notice the spelling of ARCTIC. And judging by the rest of your spelling, I hope you were not up there teaching english.
Second: No one is stopping the Inuit from practicing their culture and life style. The ban is aimed at commercial sealing, which a lot of it is in the St-Lawrence gulf not in the arctic.

So don't worry, Inuits will not have to pay 15 dollars for hamburgers. If they want beer with their seal meat, however, it will cost them considerably more than us.

ignorance at its best
Google

faroe islands denmark dolphin whale slaughter..

Denmark is a apart of the EU

Peter
Twice Canadians had to lay their lives on the line to help save the European's behinds in WW I and WW II, and this is the thanks we get. Stop buying European wines!!! North and South American wines are just as good.

Inkmont
I guess Europe doesn't want any cod either.

TLC
Forgive my two cents, but shouldn't we be more worried about our Pork industry?
I'm no fan of seal hunting, but I've learned a lot reading these comments. However, if you feel strongly that this is the wrong decision (and I'm totally undecided), then band together and stop buying EU products. The government won't push an outright ban, so if sales go down here, they will still hurt.
Now go out and buy some pork for goodness sakes, and leave all EU products on the shelf.

JPL
@Brainchild,
Indeed. I think China contributes more to the loss of species in the world more than any other country does due to crazy ass traditional medicines and the like. Japans dolphin slaughter, Anyone care to stop that? China's insatiable need to kill every damn sea horse in the ocean, any care to stop that? Bears being killed for just the gallbladder because of 'traditional' medicines, who's going to stop that? The seal hunt is the least atrocious and least environment affecting than all these other things and the animals don't need to be poached.

Jason B
The slaughter of cattle for food and clothing may not be pleasant to watch, but it is far more humane than clubbing seals for fashion.

Sebastien
I find hunting seals in mass amounts is different than raising beef for example. Seals are not necessary to our well beeing. I like that the killing of them is beeing seen as bad and INHUMANE!

JPL
@Margaret,
I didn't realize that the seals have been dragging this out in court for so long. Why is it justice if nothing illegal has been done? So many people are so very, very ignorant about the Canadian seal hunt.

Jeff in Halifax
STOP EATING FISH

To the people in the world that eat fish "STOP NOW"
the fish are netted or a metal hook is jabbed into their face and the poor things are then dragged into the air and they suffocate

Now the seals need them for food or they will over populate and die off due to lack of food (fish) to eat

STOP FISHING ITS INHUMANE

Jayme
People
I have been up to the artic including nwt/yukon and alaska.There wasy of life is to eat of the land.Yes people don't like it i have even talked to some that don't under stand it.Some say who not go toa grocery store and buy something.What is imprtant to keep in mind is food is not cheap up there to buy and those who want to can't affoed it.Here is a exzample a package of 4 hambugers in ontario is around $5 up north its doube in some cases triple.

JPL
What is wrong with these people? I bet nobody would make a stink at all if they seals were slaughtered in an abattoir like building same as all the other meat humans eat but hardly anyone complains about. I think the EU is that ignorant about this and that they are not thinking but rather reacting. Typical government BS.

R%eece
@jt

"Reece
Are you putting a seals life before a humans."

I don't know, did a God(s) send you a fax or email that gives us humans a special right over non-verbal animals?

Andy
@Jayme et al
Once and for all:
Animal populations are self controlled by the abundance or lack of food, naturally occuring deseases, weather, habitat so on and so forth.

But that is the job of Mother Nature, not Canadians.

Tenderizing the issue!
@ Hippocrazy

Exactly, like the Japanese made Saturday morning cartoons!

The seal is a smaller out of country target. For the bigger stuff out there, rest assured Beef is one of them but last on the agenda, they tried to target beef before the seals but it backfired.

Seal is MEAT, that eats fish MEAT, go figure!

jt
Reece
Are you putting a seals life before a humans.

Andy
All these pro hunting post? Did not know Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney had such a following in Canada.

Bruce
Environ-MENTAL-ists want to save the seals from being hunted and save the polar bears from Glo-Bull Warming.

Don't they know that polar bears eat seals?

I think that the Environ-MENTAL-sits should stand between the polar bears and the seals.

And the seal hunt should be expanded to include the west coast too.

Reece
If the animal is self-aware and conscious and intelligent - go find something else to eat. Whales, dogs, cats & seals are intelligent animals. To kill them cheapens your own life. Don't be comparing these animals to mosquitos and slugs or even cows - TOTALLY different league.

Jayme
To those for this ban
While yes it may not be nice and they may suffer more then they shoud.But if this was not done they would starve to death.They eat the fish and if it was not for this hunt there is no way there would be enough fish not even close.So sure maybe we would not have this hunt and people would say ya we saved them.But in fact that is very far for the truth they would die and we would have millions of dead seals on our shores etc.

Ken
I think the Canadian government should ban all E.U. automobiles from entering Canada as long as the seal meat ban is in effect. This would not only sent the E.U. a strong message but also help the Canadian auto industry which desperately needs Canadians to buy more Canadian made vehicles.

Dave in Ottawa
It's 2009, no one shoud be hunting anything. The comments I read about slaughter houses etc is nonsense. We raise beef to feed a population, there is no need for man to hunt any wild life. The more innocent / unprotected animal, the more we should protect them from harm.

Joanna
'The sealers have suffered 'a sustainable blow'-what about the blows the seals sustain, & how many bloodbaths have they endured, & for what??
Find another way of making a living-become mercenaries--that's about the same level of justice.

Manitoba Girl - Pro Hunter
Is it swine flu or seal flu? I say keep up with the population control. Hunting is necessary to control disease, famine and I'm sure a few other things I haven't mentioned. Go Harper and Day, do the right thing. Retaliation is childish, but I'm sure there is something that can be negotiated to benefit Canada.

AndyL
I love the Canadian way of thinking. Bull fighting is wrong and cruel, shark finning is wrong and cruel. But because other countries do it, then Canada should be allowed to club seals to death.
Here is a new slogan for Canada "Where two wrong make a right"
I hope global warming speeds up, the human race is just too stupid to survive.

Tony
So the European Union is flexing their might on Canada. If Newfoundland gives up the seal hunt then Spain must foreit their bullfight! I believe these issues fall in the district of their own sovereignties.
Fellow Canadians, European culture is great but don't mix it in your personal angst by throwing it in our faces!

PB in MTL
I'm curious why the seal population is so out of control. Is this not due to human intervention? Otherwise fish stocks would have been gone years ago and the seals would be the supreme beings, thankfully bringing their enormous seal-brains to bear on fixing this recession.

I'm a vegetarian and have been pretty sickened by some of the gratuitous footage I've seen. On the other hand, people raise good points about the double standard with bullfighting and factory farming. These are all equally deplorable.

And if there is one animal that really needs our help from terrible abuse and decimation, it is the SHARK! Is that on any international agendas???

Brian Lord
I am happy! GOOD. It's about time that someone teaches the Canadian gov't a lesson in humanity. This Harper gov't has done nothing but embarass Canadians on the world stage where environmental and humaine concerns were present. Long live the seals.

Angus
When I ws growing up on the east coast we hardly ever seen seals in the water.When Iwas home 3 years ago and went to the coast all I could see was seals bobbing up and down just off shore.
I dread to think what will happen if the seal hunt gets shut down.
I known the inshore fishery is in a bad way now but...

Reece
"It's now time for Canada to ban the import on selected European items. It is one of the ways to express our condemnation of this ban."

That would be ILLEGAL. We can't retaliate against a lawful ban from the EU. If you are so pro-seal-meat, the only way you can be effective is to buy a can of seal pups. Maybe get your wife a seal pup jacket etc etc.

The reason why Harper failed is because he failed to anticipate the anti-seal lobby...he got pawned and that's the end of that story.

BTW, it'll be illegal to export such disgusting products...if you are caught you will face prison terms.

Allan Eizinas
I say ignore this ban.

The total exports of seal related product to the EU is about $5 million. It will cost more than that to challenge and/or appeal a decision (550 to 49) which will not change.

Meanwhile, that ban will greatly increase the worth of the seal pelt on the open market and result in increased incomes for the harvesters.

Thank you E.U.!

neocon_nemisis
Are you joking...Ban EU Wine, cheese, other products, etc. What a joke! We have a population of 30+ million. Go ahead, start a trade war and have fun in the UI line and soup kitchen.
It's about time the civilized world recognized the brutality and insanity of this hunt.
Yes, Fox hunting and Bull fighting should be banned as well.
Or, maybe we should accept these practices as "normal" and while were at it, bring back slavery and deny women the vote! After all, they were deemed not human enough.
Seals are not humans, but as sentient beings they deserve to be free from cruelty.
The fishing industry is in crisis b/c of overfishing, and mismanagement, not the seals.

Kumar
If the ban on Canadian seal products was to help European factory fur farms sell furs to Europeans, Canda should ban all European furs, and all European fishery / whale / dolphin products to prevent the destruction of the world's oceans. Canada should also ban extremely cruel European products such as foie gras, veal, etc.

Mitchell Greig
It's also an incredibly racist facet of this ban that there is some exemption for Inuit communities yet not for whites. Let's see.... the white seal hunt has been going on Canada's east coast for the last 450 years. The Inuit for 550 years. What the hell does this have to do with anything? What about in Norway where it was going on even longer? It's just completely idiotic PC yuppie bullsh*t that is ruining the world. Is there anywhere left for sanity?

George
It may seem inhumane to others but no less than the fox hunt in England or the rabid over-fishing of the species living around the grand banks (by European nations mind you). While we're at it, I didn't see Sir Paul out on the Rainbow Warrior protesting the Japanese Whalers. If you want environmental effects upon wildlife, some European nations are notorious in their neglect and rampant pollution of the environment which affects the animals.

So let's put things in perspective when we waggle our disapproving fingers at Canadian Sealing.

VIctoria
EU is completely entitled to allow or disallow anything it wants crossing its borders; reasons are moot. Look for a new job.

Jim
Isn't it ironic that ancestors of the people in Europe that first profited from hunting and fishing in North America are now turning their backs on the industry they created.

I am sure that the EU members are all vegans, don't wear or use leather or hide related products. If you believe that I have some prime swamp, I mean real estate for sale.

Dan in Halifax
It's one thing to support, or not support a hull. BUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, srop blaming seals for this drastic decline in fish populations.

WE'RE THE SOLE RESPONSIBLE PARTY for the decline. With our trawlers, commercial overkill. Not to mention using the ocean as our personal toilet foe eons.

Don't forget the mass slaughter of the Seals #1 predator, the shark.

Get educated people. The seals are the least of the problems our waters are facing.

Reece
In other words, they want the EU to disregard the wishes of their constituence and play ball with Canadian politicians?

Bye bye, Sealers. It's over!
Democracy wins.

raj
These places need the money, it might not seem a lot to city dwellers.I am hopeful as our PM is over there now,. that he can talk about it.

Atul
WE (Canada) should ban all seal, and whale products from cruel European countries such as Greenland and Norway. We should also investigate European slaughterhouses and factory farms for cruelty to see if European meats (Foie Gras and veal), dairy/cheeses should also be banned.

Pat
excellent point by Brainchild.

JB in Calgary
This is such BS, I can't believe Canada is going to try and fight this.

It is inhumane, beating a seal to death with a club and spike. Why not find a better way to hunt them? What's wrong with a head shot with a 30 ot 6? If you get the ones in the middle of the ice pack they are not going anywhere.

Or use a handgun up close, you have to get that close anyway with a club.

I think it's funny how Canada can tell all these other country's what's right and what's wrong but when 27 country's (EU) tell Canada something's wrong, we are screaming Bloody Murder.

Grow up and change the hunting methods, or send some seal meat out West, I'd like to give it a go, that's not something you can find at Safeway here.

Stephanie in Calgary
Okay, maybe it's time for a bit of an Ecology lesson.

FIRST: There is no 'overpopulation' of seals. All organisms, except humans, maintain a population based on "CARRYING CAPACITY." This is the number of animals an ecosystem can support. The seal harvest quota is NOT based on overpopulation, but on the RECOVERY INDEX of the seals; IE: the number they can club to death and not irreparably deplete the species.


TWO: There is NO similarity between the highly regulated humane slaughter practices of domestic food animals and the clubbing of seals, whether you compare the pain imposed upon the animals, or the environmental effects of their deaths upon the ecosystem.


THREE: Harp seals had NOTHING to do with the destruction of Grand Bank Cod stocks. NOTHING. The fisheries destroyed the cod by killing more fish than could be replaced through reproduction. The cod fishery is ruined, thanks to people who didn't give a rat's ass about the cod's ability to restore their population back to the carrying capacity.


FOUR: Ironically, since there are now no cod, there is an abundance of lobster, which fishermen are happily harvesting. Of course, they are now blaming seals for ruining that 'harvest,' too. Will they never learn?


FIVE: Whether you like the idea of clubbing baby seals to death or not, one MUST admit that the optics of this practice are TERRIBLE! We look like assholes!


SIX: The income generated by the (highly subsidised) baby seal fur industry is a tiny fraction of the income Canadians LOSE every year due to international boycotts of Canadian goods and services. So: End the waste-of-time-and-taxpayer's-money seal hunt, and we'll re-gain trade heretofore withheld. If we end the baby seal hunt, we can fix Canada's damaged environmental reputation. More money, more trade: ALL GOOD

brainchild
Finally, a decision which is warranted. Its too bad it had to be made by a bunch of hypocrites. Now the rest of the world and Canada need to be more vocal about the terrible practice of shark finning. European countries; Norway, Britain, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy. Even the US,they all contribute to this terrible industry!!One third of Chinas demand for shark fins comes from Europe alone...the practice involves hunting shark and finning them while still alive, then throwing them back in the ocean to either die a slow and horrible death or to be eaten by other sea creatures. The shark population in ocean waters is being decimated because of China's shark fin soup demand...its time to open our eyes. What a horribly selfish and greedy race we have become. Google "shark finning" and see for yourselves.

J.C.
I agree wholeheartedly with Retired Soldier in Kingston Ontario.

Very good argument and well thought out and presented.
Ban the hunt-it is long overdo. Nature as always, will take care of itself in one way or another.

Over time, the sealers will find other resources for income in a much safer environment for them.

Becky
The EU is ridiculous! There is nothing wrong with hunting seals, nor any other animal for that matter. As long as the kill is quick and we are not wiping out animal populations needlessly, then I see absolutely no wrong with making a living hunting overpopulated seals. This is not good for Canada.

natural resource Natty. ON
Canada keeps making the same mistake over and over by Depending on others to process our raw materials.
There are Millions of Canadians who would Benefit from Seal-skin coats but simply cannot Afford the exhorbitant price after processing abroad. Set up processing plants in Canada that Cdns may benefit from our Resource.

Many who voted for the ban do not have to contend with Harsh Winters or out-of-control seal populations eliminating fish stocks.

Seals are a Renewable-Resource which have been well-managed as their numbers attest.

Same mistake was made with Dependency on US Plants to process Cdn Beef, and US insistance on Logs instead of Milled Boards which resulted in Saw-mills shutting down.

Set-up processing plants to turn seal skins into AFFORDABLE Coats for Canadians, and utilise the Ban as Leverage for Gains in other areas, or say Good-Bye to Fish Stocks.

Doug in PEI
Why doesn't Canada round up the seals and turn them loose in European waters. None of them would have been killed, and they wouldn't be in Canadian waters to eat our fish. how would the Europeans react then?

M
Bruno Marcocchio
This is not a hunt, it is a cull that hopefully will end now.

Nothing is used but the pelt. No one would tolerate killing cows for their coat and discarding all the meat or keeping feathers and discarding the chicken. Why is wasting all the seal but the pelt not just as repugnant?

The seals did not and now do not deplete fish stocks. Their diet is mostly crustaceans.

Bruno, I may not agree with a seal hunt either, but if you're going to represent this side of things, I would suggest that you get you read up on your facts, because what you published is incorrect. All parts of the seal are used, and seals most definitely do consume mass amounts of fish. When you give ignorant information, you actually damage your cause.

Chris from BC
I'm embarrassed to be a Canadian right now. The EU has the right idea in order to stop unnecessary cruelty to helpless animals. (Yes, this includes our cows and chickens too. And bulls from Spain. Don't get me started.) Instead of making our country the laughing stock of the world, the Canadian government would be wiser to train seal hunters so they can learn another type of work, (it IS possible) and the government should support them during a transition out of seal hunting.

Some of the ideas here are ridiculous. Ban European cheese and wine? Is there any killing involved in producing cheese and wine? Really, people.

Let's make Canada the best eco-tourism destination. We can model a different culture - one of creative communities working together on sustainable living, with respect for ALL living things - including the beauty and abundance of our magnificent land.

We just got a kick in the butt, and we sure needed it.

POPULATION CONTROL
Perhaps Canada should let the seal hunters hunt and sell their by products to Canadians. If there is a market for it, fine. If not then at least the seal population will be kept in check. Forget Europe!

Although, with the ice flows disappearing maybe the seals will become endangered anyway. Then sadly problem .solved

Lorne
I wish the EU would stop getting its policy ideas from Bono, Bob Geldof, Pam Anderson, etc.
I like the comment on banning European beef due to the Spanish bullfights!

As long as there's no hypocrisy
All the people crying out in favour of this ban better also be crying out against the slaughter of cows, pigs, chickens, fish. Because guess what, those methods aren't all soft and cuddly. If you're crying out agains't the killing of seals and not other animals then it is hypocrisy plain and simple. Frankly the seal hunt needs to be based on scientific management that regulates quotas based on the numbers of seals, sex of the seal, age of the seal, etc. This can be a well managed industry with more humane methods. But when you kill any animal its not that 'humane' a process

Roger T
The word "Challenge" makes me laugh. Since when does our Gov't challenge anyone or anything aside from being a follower(s) and following!

Pls the EU has all the right and should ban seal hunting as it is cruel and inhumane.

Challenge now, only to have a backlash from more banning and export restrictions later.

Hope our Gov't will THINK and actually use their heads before making any hasty decisions during economic uncertain times.

Think but not with hollow minds.

perek
If Europe doesn't want Canadian seal pelts then they don't have to buy them...what's the big deal?? If Canada wants to open trade markets abroad then they have to make concessions, Canada is not the US or China!

Jenna
I don't like hunting of any kind, not because I am opposed to it, I am just incapable of killing a living creature. I am totally bewildered how hunting seal is any different than hunting any other animal, what's the difference?

Keith in Brampton
To Jay:

You're right; ignorance most certainly abounds. Your comment is proof.

Seals are NOT skinned alive - though there are probably more than a few sealers mad enough over your comments to pick YOU as that "something else"...

Ray Luft
Unelected, irresponsible NGOs convince horse eaters that killing seals is a bad thing and laws get passed. Interesting thing this democracy.

Rick in NB
@ Stephanie in Calgary:
Your comment on our humane domestic slaughter is correct. But have you seen the way these animals are treated while alive on factory farms. Especially poultry.
If you believe one senseless slaughter is the same as many. Than just watch a Calgary Stampede chuckwagon race. You can't deny that horses suffer and die needlessly for our entertainment. It is easy to point fingers, but make sure your house is clean before you pass judgement.

Vanessa
JAY

The seals are not skinned alive, ignorance does abound in Canada. Learn a little more.

Canadiana
If I read one more comment about culture and heritage to justify this unjustifiable behaviour I will puke. There are plenty of things in human history that we did because of culture and tradition that we no longer do because good sense and conscience kicked in as we evolved over the years. Perhaps we can find a more humane way to keep the seal population down and perhaps the good people who currently "depend" on this income can find a different way to support themselves and adjust just as the men who owned cotton plantations not so long ago did when the use of slaves was prohibited. Not that I am comparing humans to seals....although at this point I do not know who should feel more insulted if I did....however, it goes to show that the accepted and tradition can often be not only wrong, but inhumane and horribly cruel. We can look back years later and be ashamed that we ever thought our behaviour was justifiable. It's time to find a more peaceful way to coexist on this earth. Canadians are some of the most pacifist, caring people I have had the pleasure of meeting. I hope some day to see this hunt as something that occurred in the past and was never again repeated once the great people of Canada realized what was really happening and the greater consciousness of Canada - for which we are known and respected - prevailed. This type of behaviour is beneath us as a people and a nation. There is a reason why neither the government nor the sealers want the hunt filmed and publicized. The definition of integrity is having nothing to hide…..for what it’s worth, I add my voice to the individuals who want Canada to have nothing to hide where it comes to its treatment of our wildlife….and yes I know we have other things to clean up and I am not picking on the sealers….we cannot afford to remain complacent. Let’s begin with this important step and keep going. Canada is worth it.

Al
The Canadian government will do nothing, as usual, because this ban will only effect a few east coasters and a few native communities in the North. These are people that the present PM and Government don't care about. The votes are not there. To go to the WTO will only be a formality.

Alex (Toronto)
This is protectionism for the European fur trade, and as such is a violation of WTO rules.

That said, no other country is required to buy Canadian furs. The solution is not to boycott Europe but to buy sealskin products.

Think about it.....
......there more seals we have the food chain can't keep up.

Each seal cosumes roughly 30lbs of shellfish and fish a day...or week. If we let the seal poppulation continue to grow without controlling then the lobster/crab/fish stocks will be completed depleted.

Shannon
Robert:
... "the seals are polluting the oceans.." did you actually say that. Take a moment and think before you spew out nonsense. Yup, the 5.6 million seals are polluting the waters... what about the 6.6 billions humans who have ruined this planet... What school of science did you go to? How exactly are the seals polluting our oceans. Go ahead... I want to hear this...

Pete M in Toronto
I don't know much about the seal hunt, whether seals deplete fish stocks or if European fishermen did, or Canadian fishermne did or a combination of all of the above.

I don't know if "baby" seals are skinned alive or if that is better, worse or the same as bleeding a chicken to death.

Regardless, we as Canadian should not expect the governement to fix this, any more than the EU should have banned the import of seal products.

If there is a market for seal products, and clearly there is as the EU feels it needs to ban it, then what are those people going to do that previosuly purchased seal products?

I say bring the Canadian Navy back from Somalia and the West Edmonton Mall and start patrolling our already Internatioanlly agreed waters and protect the fisheries that are thriving. Drive the price of legally caught fish up and start confiscating Portugese fishing boats and give them to the Navy to refurbish and provide to the East Coast Fishermen.

Forget asking the governemtnto ban EU products, do it yourself. Pick a product that we can live without or even better yet, has a Canadian provider and stop buying the EU version. Create the boycott yourself. That is how you get a Government to "see" what the citizens want.

I am neither for nor against the seal hunt, I do not know nearly enough. It seems to me that it's been going on for centuries but suddenly it's a problem!

N.
I am shocked not only with cruelty of killing seals, but also with reaction of Canadians. I though they are civilized and animal-loving people... But they have wild instincts.

Concerned Canadian
Retired Soldier from Kingston

Best post so far on this thread. Intelligent, rational discussion.

One distinction between the seal hunt and raising animals for food is that the ones we raise are not part of the natural ecosystem, so when we kill them, it doesn't disrupt natural cycles.

Both tend to be cruel, however, and opposing seal hunting as being cruel is hypocritical. If the Europeans would stop eating meat products, I'd see more sense in their ban.

On the other hand, killing thousands of wild animals, seals or otherwise, is as stupid as dumpiing oil in the ocean or CO2 into the air. Those who say that there are too many seals for th ecosystem need to take some courses on ecology: the ecosystem can take care of itself, thank you very much. It has done for millions of years before humans began destroying it.

The real reason for the seal hunt is that seals do compete with us for fish. And that's why Retired Soldier got it right. Sooner or later we're going to have to learn to live in balance with nature, not decimate any part of it we please just for economic gain.

Let's hope it's sooner rather than later.In the meantime, leave the seals alone and learn to live on fewer fish. Let the ecosystem return to the balance it had before we began fishing out the stocks.

Remember Cabot talking about being able to dip a basket in the ocean and bringing up fish? It could return to that, if we'd just leave it alone for a few decades.

Bob H fr Petawawa
I have pictures of what the Danes do to Calderon a type of intellegent Dolphins in Dantesque in the Faroe Islands in Denmark. I've sent it to W Five the Greenpeace Org etc. No response. You think the seal hunt is inhumane. Perhaps I should send it again. It is bloodbath that the whole town gets in to and you cannot see the colour of the water because of so much blood. As for the seal hunt, it is a way of life and income, yes it can be cruel the way some of them are handled but I believe that most of the hunters are doing as required by law.

Jim
CD
"Finally. It's time Canada entered the 21st century and I'm glad the EU did this. The hunt is wrong"

I'm tired of the uninformed comments on this. Do you know why the EU wants the seal hunt banned? To boost the use of furs from their own fur farms.

A quick bit of research on google will show you that there are 6,500 fur farms in the EU producing $4,525 million US$ in sales back in 2002-03. Why isn't the EU doing something about that? that is millions upon millions of mink, fox, raccoons, chinchillas, etc that are being bread and slaughtered every year.

The EU is a bunch of hypocrites and have just lost my vacation dollars for next summer and on.

And for all of you asying "good on the EU", get some education.

Steve in PEI
As a lot of people here have pointed out, the Europeans are gigantic hypocrites. The Europeans routinely endorse practices far crueller than the seal hunt in their domestic meat industry. This is a lot like the Egyptians ordering the slaughter of pigs - it's pure political optics to score points with the electorate without costing them anything (think: the Egyptian majority is Muslim and doesn't eat pork).

Newfoundland should do everything in its power to derail the Canada-EU free trade agreement. And Canada should enact a retaliatory ban on some European product.

Although, interestingly enough, the expanded EU includes a lot of former Communist countries which are more conservative and possibly less susceptible to this kind of nonsense. It's possible that with some creative politicking we could kill the bill in one or more European legislatures and prevent the ban from ever being enacted.

Dave in Courtenay
Seals should be "harvested" and ground up as fish meal for salmon farms. That would increase our net food supply of high value and nutrious seafood.

Robert Brise
Tit for Tat!

Now what is it that we import from the European Community?
Lets stop importing goods up to the total of what the seal ban will cost Canada!!

Anne
This is not the result of logic, but of optics. Very few people would not be repulsed by footage of men bashing young seals. It's a brutal visual, and surely there are better ways to harvest them. Perhaps then reason could modify the outright ban, recognizing that some control of the population is required.

TD
Can someone just fill me in as to what the seals are used for after they are hunted???

Doug Ontario
What mindless interference in a Canadian resource. What I find particularly maddening is the sentencec that exempts " small-scale hunts" to control the seal population.
Does this mean that Canada must ask these gutless hypocrates how many seals we can kill at a time? Starting today I am looking for a Canadian, or other, substitute for the glass of French wine I regularly enjoyed; past tense.

Stephanie in Calgary
I am frankly amazed at the pro-slaughter slant of these comments. This hunt has been a tremendous embarrassment for Canada for decades. It makes us look like a bunch of neandrathalic morons and severely damages our credibility when it comes to humane practices and domestic animal welfare.

We have some of the most humane slaughter practices in the world when it comes to our food livestock, but the world only sees the damned seal hunt. Animals for slaughter are stunned prior to being bled out. They die painlessly, never knowing what hit them. In most slaughterhouses, they never even see the captive bolt gun, or the electric stunner before it's "lights out." But, when it comes to killing seal pups, the world sees a bunch of buffoons beating baby seals on the head, again and again... all in front of the international media.

It's high time we stopped this idiotic practice, and focused instead on eco-tourism and other sustainable industries in Newfoundland and Labrador. Many more people, world-wide, want those services than the few, vain turds who wear furs. Until the seal hunt is abolished altogether, we can't get the eco-tourism industry, and others, started.

Also, consider the general trade and tourism Canada loses because of the powerful "boycott Canadian goods" campaign in Europe and the US, designed to pressure the twats in Ottawa to banish the hunt. W5 estimated the cost to Canadians as being in the billions of dollars, versus the tiny trade in fur seals. It's simple math, people! MILLIONS of dollars in tourism and trade, or TENS OF THOUSANDS for an arcane hunt with profoundly poor world-wide optics.

Jonathan Wilson
This will cause a population explosion. The cod stocks (and other species) will never come back with this many seals. We need to re-introduce as many pods of Orca's as we can to put the population back into equilibrium.

Cd
Great News!

Seal hunting is primarily an off-season activity conducted by fishermen from the East Coast. They earn a small fraction of their income from selling seal pelts to European fashion markets while the majority of their income is from working in the commercial fisheries.

The Canadian government may challenge the European ban on seal products at the
World Trade Organization so now is the time to tell Prime Minster Stephen Harper to put a permanent end to this needless, shameful annual massacre!

Richard from NL (no, the other NL)
If those in the seal culling/hunting/etc. industry didn't see this coming 20 years ago and plan accordingly, I don't think they have much to complain about now.

The EU is not even limiting the cull - that's up to the Canadian government. All they are saying is that they will not allow seal(-derived) products in the EU. They'll allow them to pass through to e.g. the Asian markets, but won't allow them to be sold.
This does not affect in any way the 'sovereignty' of Canada.

To those who plead the Canadian government to step in (don't worry, they will look for the WTO appeals), for the sake of those communities, I hope you will all start buying the fur coats, oils, meats and so forth in order to sustain the seal culling industry; otherwise you're merely admitting that you practically -depend- on the EU to sustain it.. and -that- does - in twisted ways - affect Canadian sovereignty.

Aanch
I agree with Margaret.........finally justice has been served.
I am very happy :)

MuskyBuck
Ah the mighty dollar bill.

How I marvel at it's ability to sometimes right the wrongs in this world.

Thank you European Union, as a disgusted Canadian, I've long wished for this horrible practice to end.

Terry in Ottawa
Canada should very quickly identify one specific item from each of the EU Countries and ban importation into Canada. i.e. cheeze, wine, for a starter along with other selected items to make a point. Also ban fishing fleets port facilities except in emergency situations along with no fishing within Canadian waters.

Mike from Regina
How ridiculous is it that we value seals more than humans? These people have been hunting seals for generations and now they won't be able to make ends meet. All because people think seals are cute and need protection. And it's not even like the seals are being over hunted either.

Ox
How brilliant, now instead of controlling the population by selling the pelts, we'll control them by executing large numbers en mass and grinding them up for dog food and other cosmetic purposes.

You people don't get it, the population needs to be controlled, it's larger than ever and growing faster than ever thanks to our conservation efforts.

Lorne
This ban is absolutely disgusting and hypocritical of the EU. There are many European countries that commit and condone animal cruelty in so many forms in the name of fine dining, annual sporting events etc.
The Seal hunt is just one of the many sustainable industries that kills and sells animals and animal by-products. They SHOULD NOT be singled out and unjustly persecuted.

It has been proven time and again that in recent years the seal hunt is not inhumane. There are millions of seals out there for a sustainable hunt. Seal products are used worldwide including seal oil caplets which have a multitude of health benefits.

Canada MUST defend the seal hunt and protect this undustry. We should not be bullied into submission based on ill-advised and misinformed EU legislation based on animal welfare propoganda.

Mr. Harper, DO YOUR JOB and protect this industry and the livelihood of the people in it!

Motz.
I'm not a big fan of the seal hunt but I understand the importance of it to the small sealing communities it helps support. I find this stance by the EU rather hypocritical particularly when you look at things such as bullfighting in Spain which is far more perverse and barbaric than the seal hunt.

d.young
It's about time! The seal hunt is a national disgrace and a stain on Canada's reputation. It's time to put an end to it, and if it takes the rest of the world to force the issue, so be it. Good for the EU...

Mykey, The Lakehead
Looks like the EU has sealed the deal.

pete
Ooh save all the cute animals... seals, raccoons, kangaroos, squirrels etc.. They are all so cute.. and they are all destructive pests. If sealing were banned the seal population would explode and there would be no fish stocks left. What then?

Laura
wooo! Finally the EU has seen SOME sense! Honestly, some of you guys for the seal hunt are talking rubbish. Who says us Europeans are in favour of bullfighting and boar hunting? In Canada there are many people against the seal hunt, in Europe I would say the majority are against bull fighting etc. and there are protests against them. Why do those of you for the seal hunt justify it by comparing it to other acts of cruelty? All should be banned. And honestly, ban the import of European products, I would rather see the seals live.

Please dont use the excuse that seals are 'over-fishing' and 'polluting' the oceans. The main culprit by far are us.

Are seal now humans just like us?
“The European Parliament passed a bill Tuesday banning the import of seal products, a move that is expected to cripple the Canadian sealing industry. “

“The bill, which passed with 550 votes in favour to 49 against, calls commercial seal hunting "inherently inhumane."

Now people that is very weird I never thought seal to be human ??? Next time the European Union, do invite them to the table, be shure to bring many many tons of our fish stock for dinner. Sick !!!

Gilles

Thomas
Sorry about that.
Best regards from Europe.

Scott
This is a load of crap. The EU thinks it can push around North Americans like this. Wars have been started over less. The seals over populate and the sealers are just keeping things in line.

Matt
Mr Marcocchio,

I agree, it is repugnant to harvest animals for their pelts and waste the remainder.

Fortunately such behaviour is illegal for hunters in many areas (specifically Ontario as I'm more familiar with our laws).
In the case of the seal hunt the meat is processed and eaten, not wasted.

I find it upsetting that so many people oppose the seal hunt based in a lack of understanding.
I think killing animals for food is acceptable, most people do agree.
It really seems to me that the argument against the seal hunt is simply that they are cute.

brainchild
Rogerottawa
Retired Soldier in Kingston

finally some intelligent posts on this thread..I can't believe the stupidity of some of the posts here...blaming the seal for shortage of fish...really?...soon we'll blame the apes for a shortage of bananas.

George/Alberta
Maybe Canada should ban the importation of EU livestock products (which would include leather products) until such a time as we think that their inhumane slaughter of livestock is more humane than the killing of seals.

doc morrison
we have shed our blood to fight for them and fix their problems !they don't give a damn for the seals ! they just want to cripple our fishing industry by letting the seals completely ruin fishing in Canada !our HA HA government has no guts;ban everything european ! then we will start to get some concessions,when will the politicans wake up and do something for Canada!

Doc
The ignorance is amazing sometimes. Buy out their licenses and give them meaningful work? Like what? Building ships? Cod fishing? Forestry? The coastal maritimes is an area where the harvesting of natural resouces is the only tangible work. There have been attempted government projects but greenhouses and building harbour/wave breaks by hand just didn't cut it. Now you want the government to bail them out? Many of the terminally unemployed used to go to Alberta to work 3 months on, one month off but those projects have been scaled back as well. And you know who was the first to get cut. Sometimes you have to go where the jobs are and sometimes those waiting jobs are removed/frozen during a recession.

Tom
So do you want justice for all animals or only cute ones? Seals hurt the fish industry, and the hunt helped limit their numbers. So now the Cod fishery will suffer. But hey, at least Paul McCartney will feel good

Trent
Well I agree with rob lets ban any food from europe or tax the hell out of them.

Karen
VICTORY! Awesome! Canadians have been complaining to their govenment at all levels for years to end this massacre, too bad it took the EU to bring it down.

Ian- AB
Face it east coasters... no one HAS to buy your products... and you can't force people to do so. It's the beauty of the free market. Also; traditionally speaking seal pelts weren't sold for cash to europeans. Seals were killed to be eaten, worn and make clothes out of. You can still do that so quit your whining.

Craig Collins
Margaret, cute seal pups (and adult seals) make very beautiful and provocative media impressions. The animal rights lobby require very effective press to sustain themselves - seal pup images are their media tool of choice. NL'ers are made out to be barbaric and backward which is simply not the case. The whole oceanic East coast ecosystem of Canada has been so complettely manipulated by mankinds presence that individual stocks must be now be managed. Nl'ers have been harvesting/managing (a noble human practice cross many cultures)seals for 500 years. The stock in is very healthy shape. Well done NL - showing us how to maintain a sustainable resource.

Dustin from TO
People who oppose the seal hunt have no idea what a devastating impact seals have on the fish population.

Classic case of a Hummer owner with bumper stickers that say "Save the Environment".

Johanne, Ottawa
Citizens of European countries were tricked into the EUnion which was promoted as an economic union but now wields considerable control over their daily lives - not bad for a governing body that the citizens don't get to vote for! So much for EuroDemocracy.

Canada should reply in kind to this ban, and also pull out of the current "Free Trade" negotiations with the EU.

I support the NL seal hunt, but object to those who are blaming seals for loss of fishstock - history records that when the first fishers came to NL waters, cod and seals were incredibly abundant - overfishing, and not seals, is responsible for the fishery collapse.

Derek From Ontario
I agree with Matt, you can breed an animal to slaughter it for profit and export but not a wild animal that has to have it population controlled by hunting.

Bruno Marcocchio
This is not a hunt, it is a cull that hopefully will end now.

Nothing is used but the pelt. Noone would tolerate killing cows for their coat and discarding all the meat or keeping feathers and discarding the chicken. Why is wasting all the seal but the pelt not just as repugnant?

The seals did not and now do not deplete fish stocks. Their diet is mostly crustaceans.

The real problem, rapacious and destructive fishing practices continue unchallenged despite everyone knowing that draggers destroy fish stocks and habitat.

Save a seal, skin a dragger!

Ron from NL
I find it interesting that the EU can ban something that they have no understanding about. Perhaps they should target the British Royal Family and ban the annual Fox/Hound Hunt. They can debate that inhumane act while they dine on Foie Gras or send their vessels to Canada to over fish the 'Canadian Cod Stock' Very Sad and Hyprocrital

Dunny from Manotick
It is always a sad day when any focused group or groups use lies and achieve success. The seals on our east coast are nothing more than a plague that has been a main force in the destruction of our fishery. Maintaining the population is just good wildlife management practice that is used the world over.

"Because they are cute." is hardly a good reason to ruin someones livelyhood and further endanger our east coast fishery. The EU politicians that voted for this ban are nothing more than hypocrites in Guicci shoes.

John In Edmonton
Animal Rights- Read that again slowly-animal rights.
Now, when did we get to the stage that a food product has more rights than the harvester? Whatever will we do when the vegetable and fruit rights people get going. Wheat rights " farmers terrorizing hay fields? Headline news---Man arrested for cutting grass.
Now this is just getting stupid. Comments?

Brian from TO
As a vegetarian, I am against hunting of any kind, whether it be for sport, food, or other uses. I feel this is a step in the right direction for animal advocates and hopefully further bans will follow suit.

flyoften
Amusing

All the pro-sealing comments, particularily the ones implying that animal populations will spiral out of control without human harvesting. Hmmmm, seems like nature has found a balance more often than not without human intervention. Only when humans exploit nature (Cod overfishing) or destroy environments (bottom trawling) is there a lack of balance.

To echo the more rational voices;

Finally, some justice.

Nancy:Liberal Party supports the Kill more vocally
The 8 Liberals who represent the seal hunters in Newfoundland are going to be sceaming mad if the kill does not go ahead this year or next.
The Liberals have been very vocal on this. The conservatives seem to not have their heart in it Like the Liberals do.

Sid
People who live in glass houses....

The ONLY people who can speak against the seal hunt are those who use NO animal products at all. If you're not vegan, then don't say a word. Anyone who eats meat and complains about seal hunts is nothing but an uneducated hypocrite.

Dean
Only time will tell if this is the right course or the wrong. Wether it's economics or ethics you all make good points on the pro's and con's of this ban. I've never been able to stomach baby seals being clubbed to death, nor watch what transpires in a slauter house yet i still eat meat and understand the necessity for the seal hunts. Hopefully we're on the right track....

Eric Gisin, BC
Further proof that environmentalism is the defacto religion of the west.

We can easily retaliate with a ban on some animal that show europe's hypocracy.

Jack in Calgary
For all of those that see this as a victory you should also see this as more funds being lifted from your pocket. As one poster stated the harvest really only means $2100 for the average hunter. However there are more invlved than that. Plus one should also remember that $2100 to some Newfoundland families is a lot of money. I realize that those from Upper Canada would see this only as petty cash. Broaden your minds folks for some this a good chunck of their annual income and not the cost of a bottle of wine at some Toronto steak house.

So for those opposed then I suggest you write a cheque today for $2100 and send it personally to some one that just lost a portion of their income and oh by the way keep their address for they will be expecting your cheque next year with a cost of living increase.

Matt
Emotion over fact.

It's troubling to me that there are so many misinformed activists, and they're having so much success despite the lack of evidence to their position.

This decision has a few problems.
1. It's inconsistent that the same activity is inhumane for one ethnic group, but somehow acceptable for a different ethnic group.
2. The "evidence" for the inhumane aspect are old, or show illegal hunting. It is misleading/fraudulent to present illegal activity is representative of the current legal behaviour.
3. There is an overpopulation of seals for a number of reasons. Rather than have people profit and use the harvested animals, they are proposing we pay to kill and dispose of the animals. The seals will still be killed, it will just be expensive and wasteful. Or they will be unhealthy and die due to overpopulation.

Quite simply this is 1. Racist, 2. Emotion and based on misrepresentation 3. Harmful to the seals, expensive and wasteful.

Prof. Pye Chartt
MY "INTELLECTUAL" TAKE...

Baby seals are so darn cute and cuddly. (I wish our family had one as a pet.) Cows, pigs, and chickens on the other hand are ugly and, therefore, their slaughter doesn't phase me. It's a beautiful world, and beautiful things need protection and recognition.

It's just like people... The ugly ones get teased in school, develop complexes and then, with lower self-esteem, often get a lesser job and marry another ugly person. It's bad for the superficial beauty of the planet.

The European Union is simply applying this principle to the unjust plight of baby seals. Don't be angry with them. They're merely trying to beautify the world. Canadians should be ashamed of their conflicting participation.

END NOTE: Geez, I just looked again at the picture I have on my desk of a baby seal. Man, those eyes are so cute.

Roadrobber
If everything goes the way it should, the seal population should soon skyrocket which will lead to starvation and death on the ice. It won't be long before Greenpeace and the EU will be lining up to ask for your support in terms of cash to help feed the poor starving seals. Can't wait.

NS girl married to a NL'der
Retired soldier in Ontario, first thank you for fighting for us, second, you have made the most just comments so far and very eloquently put. Unfortunate and both sides have points, but we all know our government leaders are pretty useless so nothing will really change much

Let's get even
Let us stop buying all European-made products; wines and chesses come readily to mind. And cars, once Fiat swallows Chrysler and GM. Once it starts to hurt them in the pocketbook they will come to their senses.

Peter in Kingsburg
The seal hunt probably is not any more or any less humane then any other hunt either wild or domestic. We should all keep this in mind and it doesn't matter whether it be in the Americas or in Europe. The process is the same with few variations.

I have had seal meat and it is quite good. No it does not taste like chicken or frogs'legs. It is different. Some would like it and others would not. I don't really care for sole or basa but I bet there are many that do. So why don't we use the seals domestically, put them on the dinner plate right along side the buffalo, tuna, moose, venison, quail,lobster and yes of course the beef. Certainly our celebrated chefs could concoct some special recipes?

John Barrie
Matt from Ontario . . .
"Why dosn't the media go around this country and Europe and do a report of the farms throughout. I bet you will find more cows living in there dung and unhealthy from diseases...."

First, most beef cattle are raised outdoors and a diseased animal would never be accepted at the slaughter houses. Cattlemen don't benefit from unhealthy animals.

Second, dairy farming is a very lucrative operation and the animals are looked after very well. Animals are definitely not diseased - if they were, you wouldn't be drinking milk.

Just remember one thing when you are criticizing the farmers - if you ate today, you can thank a farmer.

Mike
Economically speaking the amount off tax dollars that are spent year after year trying to sell this hunt to other countries has far and fast out paced the amount of money this hunt actually brings into Canada’s economy. Whether the hunt is humane or inhumane right or wrong at this point makes no difference the costs simply far out way the benefits. It's time for the Government to step up, buy out the sealers licenses for a fair and honest price, and set up programs within their communities to allow the sealers to learn a different trade/business that will help support their families and communities for future generations.

It’s time for the government to get some “BALLS”

Capt Jack
The killing of the whitecoat baby harp seals was banned in 1987 in Canada. Today's seals are taken when they are "moulting" (12-15 days old). In Canada there were 234,000 seals taken in 2007 and 354,000 taken in 2006. Norway took 29,000, Russia 5476 and Greenland 90,000. Seal skins are primarily made into waterproof jackets and boots and fur is made into fur coats. The meat is either processed into pet food or shipped to Asia for human consumption. It is estimated there are 9.5 million Harp seals and there are not on any endangered species list.

BC Boy
Humans are so stupid. As if any other species on the planet wouldn't smash our heads in and eat us if they could. Human emotion is a joke. Seals are cute, we can't kill them. Fish are ugly, net them and gut 'em while their still alive. I say as long as the government regulates the numbers the best they can, then use the resource.

G
Perfect!! Let's let all those cute little seal pups grow in to the ugly full-size rats of the sea that they are, while a lot of good Newfoundlanders will now have to struggle to put food on their table.

George in Calgary
I think the government should consider more/different markets for the seal. Or for that matter the people that harvest the seals. The pelt is very good and the meat is good also. Maybe Canadians should back their own industry and support the hunt much like they support the slaughter of cows etc.

Erin in Kingston
Hooray for this victory!!

APRKR
The seal hunt is a cull on a herd which is destroying fish populations as much as it is a form of income for these communities.

This ban is a sad example of how bleeding hearts can skew a decision from rational to misguided. All this ban does is hurt the fishermen trying to make a living. The seal herd needs to be culled for the sake of other fisheries. Now they will be hunted with fewer buyers to put the seal to good use and will no doubt lower the prices in general.

With a decline in seal hunt numbers its only a matter of time before fish stocks suffer and the fisherman in these areas see harder economic times.

So lets all starve the fishermen while the gluttonous seals eat only the stomach and other select organs from cod and other fish just to let the carcass sink to the seafloor.

Sass
So many wise Canadians!
harp seal population is out of control.
harvesting whitecoats and bluebacks HAS been illegal since 1987 !!!
veterinary experts conclude seals are harvested in humane manner.
this "ban on seal" has nothing to do with the welfare of the seal.

CD
Finally. It's time Canada entered the 21st century and I'm glad the EU did this. The hunt is wrong.

Justa Fella in ON
I have no idea what seal products are used for, but there must have been some kind of market for them. If the customer doesn't want to buy the product anymore, what are you going to do? It couldn't have been that vital of a commodity if your market says that they can live without it regardless of how lame their reasons are. I think we should get the chinese hooked on seal "products". I hear they pay top dollar for just the palm of a black bear so there must be some clever way to sell them on a seal's aphrodisiatic (sp) properties!

TylerDurdin
Finally!! Hunting in general should be banned. I also agree that farm animals should also be handled in a more humane way.

Ted
I believe most of us as Canadians do not know the real facts from our Country and Press about the Seal Hunt. If you are a person who travels or is involved in tourism, you would understand that the rest of the world and the EU do not support our hunting of the seal, especially the method. Our govenrment spends more money assisting the hunt than the hunt generates in Revenues. Wouldn't is just be wiser to subsidize the fisherman at the same or lesser cost, allow sealing for the Cultural aspects of natives, and for population control in a more humane fashion? That would put Canada as a Nation in a more positive light on the world stage, and also allow yet more humanity back into our lives.

Sue Davis
This ban is way overboard and we should retaliate any way possible. It is unfortunate that idiot mouthpieces misrepresenting the hunt get all the publicity. NL families rely on this hunt and no one has the right to tell them otherwise. That includes PETA and Europe.

Ed in Ontario
The seal hunt is 3000 times more humane than the process France uses to create foie gras. Once again, the European Union has proved it is more about semantics than substance.

Ray
$13 Million and 6000 sealers? I think they can find another way to to make half of their $2,100 of their annual income.

A Fellow Reader
FINALLY!!...

Yvon
Good, Those seal killer will be finally stop. It way over due.

Jenna in Ottawa
And yet they (EU countries) over-fished in our waters and greatly contributed to the demise of Canada's Cod fishery. We have done a poor job defending our sovereign rights (partly due to the denigration of our Navy) and now our way of life. Add in that the industry has dropped by 33% in one year, it's almost dead. If there is no demand there will be no supply. Ask the automakers how that works.

NC
I'm absolutely thrilled at hearing this long time awaited ban news from the EU. Bravo EU for listening to all those thousands upon thousands of people in the EU and from outside of it who have wanted nothing whatsoever to do with Canada's 'bloody industry' commercial seal hunt products. EU you've finally brought joy into my life at long last.

Dave from NB - A have not and never will Province
If we ban goods from the EU then we will only hurt ourselves because many of our large store chains will go out of business. We are willing to accept the most inferior products from them because Canada is begging other countries to join in a free trade agreement. We are selling ourselves to the wolves (another protected species) with little or no protection for ourselves and we let it happen. Like the US, it is time for a change but then again we would go from bad to worse. There was a show on TV called Mel's Diner. One of the waitresses, when disgusted used to say and I repeat it for the EU and uninformed tree huggers everywhere "Kiss my Grits"

cam w
If someone doesn't want your product, you can't make 'em buy it! How idiotic is it to think our government should engage in a battle to make Britain buy our seal products. Their government issued the ban because of the overwhelming demand from the public to take a moral stand against the hunt. Don't waste time trying to sell an unpopular product, find out what the British do want to buy and hurry up and sell it to them before someone else does. So stupid to try and fight this, when you can't possibly win.

Bess
FOR MATT FROM ON

I honestly think its because seals are cuter than cows, besides anything killed on the white snow is going to look really bad!

Not that I'm a fan of the hunt.

RVH
Good, more seals for me

michaela from Montreal
I think this is a step i the right direction. You are right, there's nothing different about slaughtering pigs, cow, and chickens, so we should put an end to that too. Congrats to the animal rights' groups who fought so hard for this. If the population of seals is growing out of hand, find better, more humane ways of dealing with it. And yes, we should ban foie gras from Europe, along with any products from anywhere that involve animals suffering.

Retired Soldier in Kingston, ON
This is a necessary ban.

The over-fishing of cod stocks by Maritimers and foreigners over the past 250 years and especially, in the last 40, have served as a motivating factor by Regional & Federal politicians for the politically driven policy of
"harvesting" seals in the 21st century to lower the predation on cod stocks.

Sealing, like hunting, which provided Newfoundlanders with alternate sources of income, is now widely seen to be a poor policy among the global community. The method of killing seal pups is also abhorrent; a metal hook is slammed into the skull of baby seals, and in some instances, film documentaries have witnessed pups being skinned alive!

Hardly the type of activity which endears sealers to the global citizenry! (Or to seals for that matter!)

In an age where synthetic fabrics and materials are widely available to the
global consumer, trendy shoppers do not need animal skins swathing their feet!

As someone who has lived extensively in the Maritimes, I have seen first hand the devastation caused by poorly thought out policies from governments, driven by "knee-jerk" reactions to crisis
management and the need to get re-elected!

A better policy then allowing sealing would be to ensure that the cod stocks are replenished by rehabilitating the devastated ocean floor on the Grand Banks, harsh prosecution of illegal fishing of Northern Cod by foreign fishing fleets and an end to supporting out-dated industries and activities in Canada by Regional and Federal Governments.

Perhaps this way, mankind can atone for decades of exploiting and devastating the oceans of various types of fish and mammals, while also treating the Oceans as a public sewer for the bulk of mankind located on its coasts!

Pro Patria!

Rogerottawa
The comments about the seals hurting fish stocks are beyond stupidity. The seals depend on fish. If there's no fish, there's no seals. Ever here about the balance of nature? The predator only prospers if the prey does.

Blaming overfishing on anything but humans is the epitome of stupidity. Canadians will believe anything that spews out of the seal hunting propaganda machine. Pathetic!

Vanessa
What on earth are the products provided by sealers that bring in a revenue of 13 million dollars. Does anyone know?

Roger T
It's about time.....so what does our Gov't have to say about 2 bans now? EU & China banning our products.

Is our Gov't gonna start banning imports while the economy struggles, can our country afford to pick fights now that we are in this situation. You sow what you reap while the good times were high.

Now what.....beg on the world stage or start bashing and start repairing relations with the more advance economies.

Chris from NS
Unbelievable!

This hunt is one of the best hunts in the world, as all parts of a seal are used in some way. THere is no waste!

I love how these crazy greenpeace activists protest against this hunt, but they have no problem with the way chickens, cows, pigs etc are slaughtered...

Unbelievable.

I hope the government stands up and bans European products in retaliation.

Jay
Good! I guess they'll have to find something else to skin alive now. Ignorance abounds in Canada.

Goldens
I am amazed at the injustice of this and some of the comments of the animal cult, who say it is justice to harm some of the greatest people on earth. The EU wants to open free trade talks with Canada and one of the first things they do is listen to cultists and ban a great seal management program wihich is anthing but inhumane.
John Wilson
Bridgetown NS

John
I agree....stop buying European goods i.e. all wine from European countries, caviar, goose liver pate, anything made in Europe.

Warren
I know that Lamb is a favorite on the menus throughout Europe. It's every bit as cute as a seal and much younger than the seals that are curently being killed. Can we ban lamb as a token of our appreciation??

Finally!
Whoo Hoo! I'm doing my happy dance.

Yay!
The EU is joining scores of countries who already have this ban in place, including the US. The hunt cannot be justified on any basis, as it is economically, morally, and internationally detrimental.

James T.
We shed our young men's blood to win TWO of their wars for them, and this is how the decadent europeans repay us?

I call for a full and immediate ban on all european wine and cheese.

And the next time they decide to have a war among themselves, I vote we stay home!!!

Joan
I agree with MATT also.. Does anyone realize how many fish those seals are eating. Our fish stock is declining and those darn seals are eating tons and tons of them a day. We are not allowed anymore than 8 small salmon a year and we can not fish bass...It seems like feed the seals and let the people starve.

Ross Boone
The cod fish are not happy with this.

spencer
Notice the exeption to control the seal population.....The EU knows how many of their fishing ships work off the east coast of Canada......they do not want to run short of fish, or have the price go up do they ????
Thinking outside the box....why not set up seal farms???? There is a market for the hides, what about the meat ???? And for the ads.....let's have Paul McCartney enjoying his first SEALBURGER!!!!!

Dave from NB - A have not and never will Province
Mat from Ontario
Good thread
Margaret - What Justice
This is a dark time not only for Canada and the people around the world who depend on the harvest for a living. I think seals are cute and cuddly too but like any species that goes unchecked, the population will explode. Seals eat fish and lots of them. We claim that the fish stocks are very low and we have reverted to fish farming that polutes the waters surrounding the fish weirs but there is very little outcry about that. It is unfortunate also that some people have chosen to humanize seals much in the same way as they do their family pet. Animals are just that and to make them anything else in just wrong. If you follow that logic, we should ban hunting altogether and each car can have a deer on it and our roads will be covered with rabbits, racoons, porcupines and whatever decides to cross the road.What a tragedy

Steve in Ottawa
Say, don't bulls continue to be put to death in Spain in the name of sport?

How very European, that wonderful continent home of two world wars, demonstrating decorum to New World peons.

Ryan
Ban something important of theirs then. China bans our pork, Europe bans seal hunts out of unfounded emotions. Where does it stop, we need some retaliation I would say. Step up to the plate feds.

shawn
Firt of all, I don't know what is more inherently inhumane about killing a wild animal compared to the industrialized killing of domesticated animals in Europe.

Second, historically it was European appetite for seal fur that created the dependency of Inuit on larger scale seal hunting.
So it's a bit two-faced to now simply say 'no more' and not offer any compensation or help to gain other employment.

Ontario Taxpayer
This is ridiculous...Time to put a ban on European fishing trawlers off the east coast. Create a 500 mile exclusion zone beyond the 200 mile limit and arrest any ship and crew that breaks the ban....oh that won't work..we don't have the Naval resources,oh well...suck it up Canada and NL. We are being pushed around by Europe again...so much for gratitude..I guess the blood of many Canadians whi defended and fought for their freedoms means nothing to this generation!

Robert
These people are off the deep end.
The seals are polluting the waters because of over population. These same seals are eating millions of tons of fish yearly, ruining the fish stocks.
I agree with Matt. Canada should have a watch dog in Europe and we would find there is a lot more cruelty on some of their farms than what is happening with the seal hunt.
Shame on Canadian government for not taking action and show the Europeans they will not rule the world with nonsense.

Scott
If seals looked like the platypus, people would carry clubs in hope of seeing a seal. Let's look at the reality; with no seal hunt, the seal population increases beyond what the ecosystem can handle and the fish stock decreases more rapidly than it already is; not to mention that a market which has buyers and sellers and families that rely on this income will have nowhere else to go but to hope joe taxpayer and the federal gov't pony up an economic package to compensate for new training and lost revenue!

Nic
I agree with Matt from Ontario.

On top of that--and it's been mentioned before--what about the way paté de foie gras is made in France or how bulls are killed for entertainment purposes in Spain? Is that humane?

Dd
This isn't a decision based on facts but emotion. The animal rights groups have been successful in lying to the EU and people like Margaret who are under the impression that it's a bad thing to kill a cute animal.

Perhaps, Margaret, you should go visit your local slaughterhouse. Go paint their floors white and see what they look like after the chickens (who are younger than the seals killed) are strung upsidedown on a conveyor and their throats slashed. You think it's humane to let a chicken move along that conveyor while it bleeds to death????

Meanwhile, the EU has no problem with the bull fights or Foie Gras or the culling of marmots in Germany.

In the end, this will NOT end the seal hunt because the explosion in the seal population means the animals will be culled. The only difference now is that the animals will die for no reason. Way to go, EU.

If people were really concerned about the plight of the northern seal population, they wouldn't be worried about the few taken by hunters...but about the millions that will drown because of climate change.

Crystal
Why is it okay to hunt moose, deer, rabbit, etc when the populations get too high but the seal hunt is inhumane even though seals are extremely detrimental to the environment, including over fishing. Instead of letting uneducated celebritants who so many people in the world appear to look to for intelligent opinions, look to the people whose lives will be effected. Those little white seals that all those anti-seal hunt ads show are false, it is not baby seals they hunt. Why is it wrong to hunt seals when the Inuits still hunt whales? or is the world going to turn around and take away thier heritage too?

Jackie Barrett
I think Canada should challenge this ban before the WTO or even the international courts since the negative publicity over seal hunt is blown out of proportion.

Secondly, Canada should impose a ban on all products from European Union member nations, including automobiles from Italy (FIAT), Germany (Daimler, Volkwagen), and Sweden (Volvo, SAAB), until they have the guts to remove the ban and stop giving into ill informed activitsts like Paul McCartney.

Thirdly, all politicians from the European Union should be banned from Canada as punishment for banning seal products without knowing the facts.

In the meantime, sealers should look for new markets including China, Japan, United States, India, and other emerging markets.

Hippocrazy
It's much easier to anthropomorphize a seal than a chicken, cow, pig, goat or sheep...

Just LOOK at those big eyes!

So basically if we set up factories, trapped and herded the seals into production lines and killed them, that would be fine with the EU?

Rob P
Margaret, please learn a litle more about the real seal hunt before feeling the need to type "Finally.....some justice in the world."

And Matt From Ontario, I couldnt Agree with you more!

This Newfoundlander is feeling quite sad at this news.

Meagan from London ON
Boycott European Union wine.

Relieved in NS
Finally! Canada has been and continues to be a farce in handling this issue. It costs more money to run the commercial hunt than it returns, it is unnecessarily cruel, and looks bad on the international scene. Hopefully this will do some justice to the Farley Mowat ship Canada illegally stole without due process and without proper lawful handling. Way to stick it to the Canadian rednecks who don't represent us, EU! Hurrah!

Chris in Kingston
I'm sure we can similarly ban an EU product.

All you wannabe Greenpeace activists: Don't worry about the 5.6 million other Harp seals that will not be killed this year, and thats only if they make the quota of 280,000. You'll also be happy to note that instead of a large club that kills the seal instantly with little to no pain, we can just move to something more humane.... oh, I can't think of anything more humane.

dan in toronto
Time to ban european beef. Have you ever seen a bullfight in Spain. It is gratioutous torture, What a bunch of hypocrites.

Toby
Uneducated stupidity.

Let's just live trap the overpopulated seals and deliver them to the shores of the EU.

Brian froom NL
It's now time for Canada to ban the import on selected European items. It is one of the ways to express our condemnation of this ban. These Europeans have no idea what goes on during the seal hunt. They claim it's barbaric. What slaughter of any animal is not bloody? Check out any abattoirs lately? Germany has its annual wild boar hunt - nothing said. Don't hear the animal rights groups saying anything about that! What about the cull of dolphins in a Scandanavian country. Hear anything about that? I don't think so. Let's face it! A baby seal with big watery eyes brings in the cash. No matter how many times people are told the baby seal hunt ended in 1987 they just don't listen. The animal rights groups continue to play their cash/trump card - the baby seal. And the uneducated, misguide, easily manipulated public fall for it every time. Think I'll start a campaign to ban the slaughter of lambs. Best get a start before the animal rights movement looks for another cash-cow target. Make a few dollars, you know? In any event, I have seal flipper pie on the menu for next weekend and I can't wait! Tastes great. too!

Rob
Then our Goverment should put a ban on everything imported from Europe.
This is unlikely, since the Federal Goverment, long before MR Harper, but still, does very little to support NL rights.
These people have been taken advantage of years, broken promises since joining confederation, promises of a railway, more broken promises with the oil, lies and no support to ban forgien trawlers from overfishing, for a bad Hydro deal with Quebec, now little support for the seal fishery.
Shameful, they are being abused more than any other place in Canada for their resources.

Matt from Ontario
I think it is funny how some folks think it is inhumane to go hunt wildlife and it is okay to keep a chicken , cow couped up in a cage until it is big enough to slaughter. So tell me folks why is it okay to line cows up and drive a spike through there head, but its not okay to do it to a seal.

Why dosn't the media go around this country and Europe and do a report of the farms throughout. I bet you will find more cows living in there dung and unhealthy from diseases....

Just think about it

Brandi
I'm not exactly a fan of the seal hunt, but I really don't like this round about way of undermining the sovereignty of Canada. This is also a cultural heritage issue. Since the United Nations is so keen on protecting that sort of stuff, maybe they should step in and put some pressure on Europe to put an end to this nonsense.

Margaret
Finally.....some justice in the world.