A Europe-wide ban on the trade of seal fur and products was expected to be overturned this week, in a move that would have reignited one of the world's most contentious wildlife issues. An EU court however in a much-anticipated ruling Thursday upheld the ban.
Fur traders, including Inuit from Greenland and Canada and sporran makers in Scotland, were among those that apealled against the 2010 EU ban in the European court. The legal battle was being led by the Fur Institute of Canada, which said that the ban has had an impact on the Canadian seal trade. Fishermen from several countries also alleged that seals have become a menace, with growing populations reducing fish stocks.
The Canada-led campaign to lift the ban on the trade in
seal fur and products was joined by the country's largest Inuit group, Inuit
Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), as well as by Scottish suppliers of the sporran pouch
made of seal pelt that is part of traditional Highland dress.
"The General Court (of
the European Union) dismisses the action," a statement said. "The
General Court confirms the validity of the regulation on the marketing of seal
products."
Since the EU ban came into effect there has been a dramatic drop in the Canadian commercial catch, where most seal hunting takes place: more than 40,000 seals were killed in 2011, down from 354,000 in 2006. . Likewise the price of a pelt has dropped from about 90 euros ($118) to nine in the same timeframe.
However, the governments of Canada and Norway have
mounted a separate legal challenge to the EU ban via the World Trade
Organisation.
The Luxembourg-based court said the EU law protects the
interests of Inuit communities which hunt seals "as an integral part of
their culture and identity" by authorising the sale of seal products that
"result from hunts traditionally conducted by such indigenous communities
for the purpose of their subsistence".
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