COMMERCIAL SEAL HUNTING AND THE IMPORTATION OF SEAL PRODUCTS INTO THE UK

That this House congratulates Belgium and the Netherlands for banning the trade in seal products; welcomes these bans as a step towards an EU-wide ban; is disappointed at the decision of the Canadian government to pursue consultations at the World Trade Organisation against these bans; believes these bans are wholly justified due to the public outrage caused by the cruel killing methods in seal hunts; notes evidence in the scientific opinion of the European Food Safety Authority released in December 2007 on the Animal Welfare Aspects of Killing and Skinning Seals that, in practice, effective killing does not always occur, that during Canada's commercial seal hunt, animals suffer pain and distress and that sealers often do not comply with regulations; and urges the Government to follow the example of Belgium and the Netherlands and ban the trade in seal products in the UK.