IFAW: UK animal welfare supporters unite for Brussels seal protest

Animal welfare supporters from the UK will join others from around Europe next week to demonstrate in Brussels in support of an EU-wide ban on seal products.

The peaceful demonstration on Tuesday (1st), organised by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and coordinated by Eurogroup for Animals, will take place outside the offices of the European Commission, which is due to decide later next month whether or not to introduce the trade ban.

Staff from IFAW’s London office are travelling to Brussels with concerned supporters from around the UK to push for a ban alongside campaigners and supporters from all over Europe. The majority of EU countries will be represented at the event which will also include speeches from MEPs and latest footage from this year’s seal hunt.

IFAW opposes Canada’s commercial seal hunt because it is cruel, unnecessary and unsustainable. Around 300,000 seals are shot or clubbed each year, primarily so their fur can be used to make luxury items for the fashion industry.

Robbie Marsland, Director of IFAW UK, said: “I have witnessed for myself the unacceptable cruelty in this hunt, with thousands of seals suffering a slow and painful death each year for products which nobody needs. An EU-wide ban on these products is vital to close down the markets and send a message to Canada that people in the UK and Europe want no further part in this cruelty.”

The European Commission’s Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas, said in April that a ban would be introduced if countries were unable to prove the animals were being killed humanely. IFAW and other groups provide evidence year on year which proves the hunt is inherently inhumane, and therefore believe an unconditional ban must be introduced.

To support the push for an EU-wide trade ban on seal products, please visit www.stopthesealhunt.co.uk where you can send an email to the European Commission.

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For more information, pictures or to arrange interviews call Clare Sterling in the IFAW Press Office on 020 7587 6708, mobile 07917 507717, or email csterling@ifaw.org

Alternatively visit www.ifaw.org

Photographs of the protest will be available after the event.

Notes to Editors:

The demonstration will take place from 1.30pm to 3.20pm on Tuesday July 1 outside the Berlaymont building of the European Commission in Rue de la Loi in Brussels.

The quota for the 2008 commercial seal hunt in Canada was 275,000 seals. Despite the Canadian government claiming new regulations would ensure a more humane hunt, IFAW gathered further evidence of cruelty.

Animal welfare organisations and MEPs are not calling for an end to traditional Inuit seal hunting (in accordance with humane animal welfare standards) which only accounts for a very small proportion of the harp seals hunted in Canada. The ban only addresses the large scale commercial seal hunting. Moreover, it also applies to seal products deriving from commercial hunts elsewhere, such as in Namibia and Russia.

Groups taking part in the protest include IFAW, Eurogroup for Animals, Humane Society International (HSI) UK and Global Action in the Interest of Animals (GAIA).

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is one of the world’s largest animal welfare and conservation charities, dedicated to improving the welfare of wild and domestic animals throughout the world by reducing commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats, and assisting animals in distress. For more about IFAW, visit www.ifaw.org