CANADA SETS NEW RULES FOR "HUMANE SEAL HUNT"
Kinship Circle nominates the move for Oxymoron Of The Year
2009 KILL QUOTA: 338,200 seals
2008 KILL QUOTA: 275,000 seals
2007 KILL QUOTA: 270,000 seals
2006 KILL QUOTA: 335,000 seals

CANADA FAILS TO DILUTE EU BAN ON SEAL GOODS
10/28/10 - A sweeping ban on import-export of seal goods across European Union nations took effect 8/20/10, with exemptions for native Canadian Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and 15 more commercial sealers who requested a moratorium until Europe’s top court ruled definitively. But in October 2010 European Judge Marc Jaeger rejected the plaintiff plea — in truth, a Canadian government sponsored attempt to save the commercial harp seal hunt.

The court activated a comprehensive ban while the European Court of Justice decides its long-term legality. Judge Jaeger threw out the notion that a seal goods embargo leads to steep financial damage and suicide among Inuit youth. Still, we can expect many more legal challenges from the Canadian government.

U.S. SENATE PASSES RESOLUTION AGAINST CANADA SEALING
5/7/09 - Passed by unanimous consent without amendment, S.Res.84 urges Canadian government to prohibit commercial hunting of seals and supports for the European’s unconditional ban on seal goods.

CANADIAN SEALERS LOSE PRIME CUSTOMER - EUROPE!
5/5/09 - European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to ban seal goods from import-export across European Union's 27 nations. In a positive leap for seals, whom Kinship Circle and animal groups worldwide have labored to save through action and education, Canada loses a major chunk of an already weak market for seal parts. Rebecca Aldworth, director of Humane Society International Canada, calls the ban a historic moment in the campaign to stop commercial seal hunts around the world. Kinship Circle also salutes Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for past interventions on the bloody ice floes.

THREAT OF EU BAN LOOMS OVER CANADA SEAL HUNT
3/23/09 - The world’s largest marine mammal slaughter opens under pressure of a potential European Union ban on seal imports. A European Parliament committee called the hunt inherently inhumane. Animal advocacy groups say the massacre is difficult to monitor and ravages seal populations. Sealers market pelts in Europe, Russia and China, along with blubber and oil. Canadian authorities contend animals are killed quickly and have warned they will challenge a ban as a violation of world trade rules. In fact, documentation shows baby seals shot, bludgeoned, kicked and thrashed with razor-sharp hakapiks.

RUSSIA ENACTS PARTIAL SEAL HUNT BAN
3/18/09 - Russian Minister of Natural Resources Yuriy Trutnev announced a ban on hunting harp seals under 1 year in age. Confirmation of the ban follows last month’s directive to ban slaughter of unmoulted whitecoat harp seal pups and adults in the White Sea. The moves place Russia ahead of Canada, in terms of government response to public opinion. Minister Trutnev said, NGOs actively upheld their position against this hunt, raised public awareness and by all means contributed to the passage of a ban on the seal hunt in Russia.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called seal hunts a bloody industry that should should have been banned years ago.

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