http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfou...ling-1220.html

Animal welfare activists say Canada's embattled commercial sealing industry is threatened with imminent extinction because it is losing access to its largest market: the Russian Federation.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said it has obtained a document from the World Trade Organization (WTO) that shows the federation has banned imports of all harp seal pelts.
"We were pretty excited to find the document," said Sheryl Fink, director of IFAW's anti-seal hunt program.
"We've got confirmation from our Russian office that this is in fact a trade ban. We're curious to see how the government of Canada is going to respond to this. It should have a huge impact on the Canadian sealing industry.............."

Fellow Canadians. Write your MP's and the Conservative party. Emails that let them know that the slaughter has to end now! The time has come! Russia is one more nail in the coffin and we need to put the pressure on.

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This is great news. The Canadian government was supporting this over all these years? They're supposed to be one of the better-behaved governments, but apparently they aren't.

It gets complicated in terms of political correctness when change, however necessary, involves damaging the economy of already impoverished aboriginal communities. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad everyone seems to be moving in this direction, but I don't blame the government for not pushing it. They answer to more people than just veg*ns and animal rights sympathizers.

The EU ban has no prohibitions against aboriginal hunted products, but I'm not sure about the Russian one. The ones who are squawking the most are the Newfoundlanders and guys from Labrador. So Inuit hunters would still be able to sell if they wanted to, although if there's no market, there's no market. That group is also allowed to hunt for food and they take the adults not the babies like the white guys do.

I have read that in opinion polls, the majority of Canadians (68% approximately) think the hunt should be finished. So really, in a democracy with an elected government, this hunt should have ended years ago. And the Canadian government panders to the most vocal and tries to bully other countries into buying products they don't want any part of and it's getting downright embarrassing.

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I've never heard that the Inuit have their own 'event'. My understanding is that there is a time for the seal hunt, come one, come all, except of course the activists. Commercial boats are involved, but doesn't mean that Inuit can't have their own boats and from those take baby seals. Whether or not there would be a market for whatever babies skins they brought is another thing. It's pretty clear that the people of Europe have spoken on this issue. Mind you there are always people who don't give a rats behind about baby seals or animals suffering, they just want fur!

'Traditional Inuit seal hunting accounts for three percent of the total hunt; it is excluded from the European Commission's call in 2006 for a ban on the import, export and sale of all harp and hooded seal products.' from Wickepedia

So as it stands, if 97% of the slaughter has no market or a market so small, it can't be long before there is none and our government will have to end this atrocity officially. The day draws nigh!

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Fabulous comments and thanks very much for them. So one more case of political spin! Am I surprised? Not at all as that is what we have come to expect from politicians rather than truth. Truth????? What the heck is that and why is that relevant?

So now that we know that the Inuit aren't concerned, it is official that the Canadian government is only pandering to a small but vocal minority who don't want to move into a more modern and kind way of life. Can it be that they really do 'just like killing stuff'? Like I said, the end is nigh. Go Russia!

PS: as I was reading through your first link, I came across the following and it just reinforces the suspicion that Newfie's just like killing stuff.

Even the sealers admit it isn't an economical boost. Sealer Desmond Hunt is quoted as saying, "We all go out for the love of it rather than the money, which isn't there anymore."