BRUSSELS, Belgium, July 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council of the European Union today adopted the regulation to ban the trade of all seal products within the EU. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW - www.ifaw.org) applauds the adoption as the last step of approval before the implementation of this momentous legislation. The ban is a significant victory in IFAW's 40-year campaign to end Canada's commercial seal hunt.

"There is a wonderful sense of accomplishment today after years of hard work," said Lesley O'Donnell, Director of IFAW EU. "Already this year we've seen how the prospect of the ban dampened the seal hunt and saved the lives of thousands of seals. Over the coming year we will closely monitor the implementation of the ban until it comes into enforcement which should be during the summer of 2010. We expect the seal hunt to continue its inevitable decline over the coming years until it is wiped out once and for all."

The Canadian government has made it clear that it will continue to enthusiastically pursue trade negotiations with the EU over the coming months and years regardless of this trade ban.

The minute financial contribution of the seal hunt in Canada is more than offset by the indirect subsidies required and the costs incurred by the hunt. According to a Canadian government website the 2009 commercial seal hunt was worth just over $1 million. In contrast, the Canadian government expects a Canada-EU trade deal to increase Canada's real income by $14 billion.

This seal ban is the culmination of years of work by IFAW which began with Belgium passing the first ban on the trade of seal products in the EU. "Belgium was the first EU country take a stand on this abhorrent industry and without their bravery we likely would not have achieved this tremendous success today. IFAW supporters around the globe are thankful to Belgium and the people of Belgium for their vital role in hastening the demise of this antiquated and unnecessary business," said O'Donnell.

SOURCE International Fund for Animal Welfare

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