Russia bans trade in Harp Seal fur
Image - Norbert Rosing
The Russian Federation, along with immediate neighbours Belarus and Kazakhstan, has banned the import of Canadian Harp Seal fur. An order for 100,000 baby seal skins has already been declared cancelled as a direct consequence of the ban and, although no exact figures are available, it has been estimated that 90% of Canadian Harp Seal skins were destined for the Russian market.
Russia's own seal hunts were restricted in 2009 to the killing of animals in excess of one year old, with President Vladimir Putin referring to the hunts as a "bloody industry that should have been banned long ago." The U.S., Mexico and the European Union already have their own bans on Canadian seal products, and documents submitted to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) suggest that the Russian ban has been backdated to August 2011.
Animal Right activists, who have long campaigned for such a ban, are already predicting that the Canadian seal products industry might not survive the loss of the Russian market. Welcoming the news, Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare's Seal Program Sheryl Fink said “If Russia is 90 per cent of the market, that’s a huge chunk gone, and it’s not a great market to start with. So the question is, is Canada going to admit that people don’t want seal products, or are we going to keep fighting this one?”
