| Parliamentary Assembly Assembl�e parlementaire |
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Seal Hunting
Doc. 10156
27 April 2004
Motion for a recommendation
presented by Mr Azzolini and other
This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it
Seals are being hunted in the Arctic countries, above all Canada (93%), to harvest pelts, meat, fat and oils. The markets involved are the Nordic countries for meat, Europe for pelts and Asia for aphrodisiacs and medicines.
In February 2003 the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans issued a three-year seal hunt management plan with which it significantly increased the quota of animals that can be killed (975,000 over three years). This is causing a sharp drop in the population of these animals in the North Atlantic.
The Canadian government asserts that it supports a humanely acceptable harvest policy but video documentation has shown that the seal hunt is conducted with extremely cruel methods. Despite the fact that since 1987 Canada has banned the killing of seal pups, the main victims of the hunt are infants of between 2 and 12 weeks of age.
The main justification for the increase in the cull is that the measure is necessary to stem the decrease in the cod population in the northern Atlantic. However, scientific studies have shown that seals primarily feed on the fish that in turn eat cod and therefore actually help safeguard cod fisheries.
The horror of this slaughter has swept around the world, moving public opinion and eroding Canada’s international image. Surveys indicate that 79% of Americans and 80% of people in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are opposed to the commercial hunting of seals.
Many Europeans countries have passed laws protecting seals, but Europe remains one of the main importers and manufacturers of seal pelt products. By contrast, in the United States the Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits the import, export, sale and possession of all marine mammal products.
The Assembly undertakes to promote in every forum regulatory initiatives aimed at prohibiting the import and use of seals or seal parts in any form of manufacturing or trade.
The Assembly also asks the Committee of Ministers and the parliaments of the Member States to exert pressure on the Canadian Government and Parliament to cease this cruel practice, which is unbecoming of a civilised nation.
Signed
[1]:
Azzolini, Italy, EPP/CD
Agramunt Font de Mora, Spain, EPP/CD
Arzilli, San-Marino, EPP/CD
Ates, Turkey, SOC
Berisha, Albania, EPP/CD
Budin, Italy, SOC
Cekuolis, Lithuania, LDR
de Zulueta, Italy, SOC
Donabauer, Austria, EPP/CD
Dreyfus-Schmidt, France, SOC
Glesener, Luxembourg, EPP/CD
Gubert, Italy, EPP/CD
Hancock, United Kingdom, LDR
Malgieri, Italy, EDG
Margaryan, Armenia, EDG
N�meth, Hungary, EPP/CD
Nessa, Italy, EPP/CD
Paoletti Tangheroni, Italy, EPP/CD
Papadimitriou, Greece, EPP/CD
Puche, Spain, EPP/CD
Schreiner, France, EPP/CD
Spindelegger, Austria, EPP/CD
Stankevic, Lithuania, LDR
Topalli, Albania, EPP/CD
Van den Brande, Belgium, EPP/CD
van der Linden, Netherlands, EPP/CD
Vrettos, Greece, SOC
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SOC |
Socialist
Group |