gibb
03-12-2009, 09:07 AM
News Release
INUIT EXEMPTION FOR EUROPEAN SEAL BAN POINTLESS
IQALUIT, Nunavut (March 10, 2009) – Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak and Environment
Minister Daniel Shewchuk said they are both very disappointed with the European
Union’s (EU) vote last week towards a ban on seal products. Although the ban provides
an exemption for Inuit hunts, it will not protect Inuit communities.
“I am very disappointed in the decision by the Committee,” said Premier Aariak.
“History has shown that the entire market collapses when countries talk about banning
seal products. Inuit in Nunavut will be affected by this decision, whether or not an
exemption is in place and that is not right.”
“There is a common misconception that an exemption protects Inuit, this is absolutely not
the case,” said Shewchuk. “We’ve seen how pointless these exemptions were in the
1980s as a result of the European ban on white-coats. They included Inuit exemptions
back then, but our communities still suffered. Once again, the Inuit are being used to
further a cause based on misinformation from animal rights groups opposing the hunt in
any form.”
The exemption in the proposed ban only allows Inuit to trade seal products for cultural,
educational or ceremonial purposes. Any commercial sale would be prohibited. Inuit
hunters and seamstresses depend on the seal to address limited economic opportunities in
remote communities and to offset the increasing costs of groceries shipped from great
distances in the south.
The European Union first introduced a “Proposal for a Regulation of the European
Parliament and of the Council Concerning Trade in Seal Products” last summer. On
March 2, 2009, the European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer
Protection considered whether strict labelling would be sufficient and voted against it.
The European Parliament will be voting on the proposal, which bans the trade of all seal
products except those produced by Inuit for cultural, educational or ceremonial purposes,
in early April, 2009.
- 30 -
For more information, contact:
Craig Welsh
Communications Manager
Department of Environment
Government of Nunavut
867-975-7721
INUIT EXEMPTION FOR EUROPEAN SEAL BAN POINTLESS
IQALUIT, Nunavut (March 10, 2009) – Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak and Environment
Minister Daniel Shewchuk said they are both very disappointed with the European
Union’s (EU) vote last week towards a ban on seal products. Although the ban provides
an exemption for Inuit hunts, it will not protect Inuit communities.
“I am very disappointed in the decision by the Committee,” said Premier Aariak.
“History has shown that the entire market collapses when countries talk about banning
seal products. Inuit in Nunavut will be affected by this decision, whether or not an
exemption is in place and that is not right.”
“There is a common misconception that an exemption protects Inuit, this is absolutely not
the case,” said Shewchuk. “We’ve seen how pointless these exemptions were in the
1980s as a result of the European ban on white-coats. They included Inuit exemptions
back then, but our communities still suffered. Once again, the Inuit are being used to
further a cause based on misinformation from animal rights groups opposing the hunt in
any form.”
The exemption in the proposed ban only allows Inuit to trade seal products for cultural,
educational or ceremonial purposes. Any commercial sale would be prohibited. Inuit
hunters and seamstresses depend on the seal to address limited economic opportunities in
remote communities and to offset the increasing costs of groceries shipped from great
distances in the south.
The European Union first introduced a “Proposal for a Regulation of the European
Parliament and of the Council Concerning Trade in Seal Products” last summer. On
March 2, 2009, the European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer
Protection considered whether strict labelling would be sufficient and voted against it.
The European Parliament will be voting on the proposal, which bans the trade of all seal
products except those produced by Inuit for cultural, educational or ceremonial purposes,
in early April, 2009.
- 30 -
For more information, contact:
Craig Welsh
Communications Manager
Department of Environment
Government of Nunavut
867-975-7721