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Stowarzyszenia EMPATIA Rozpoczynamy mailing do Komisarza UE ds. Środowiska!
Proszę wyślij poniższy list podpisując się pod nim własnym imieniem i nazwiskiem na adres Komisarza UE ds. środowiska Stavrosa Dimasa, który obecnie analizuje sprawę polowań na foki. Od niego w dużej mierze zależy decyzja Komisji Europejskiej w sprawie zakazu importu do Unii produktów z fok!
Adres Komisarza: stavros.dimas@ec.europa.eu
TREŚĆ LISTU:
Dear Mr. Dimas,
I turn to you with an appeal to consider undertaking measures aimed at establishing a ban on import to the European Union of seal products from Canada. I am outraged at the immense cruelty involved in the commercial seal hunts taking place in Canada. Moreover, as I have learnt, it is the largest slaughter of marine mammals in the world and this activity definitely violates contemporary standards of humane approach.
On Friday, 28 March 2008, another hunt started. This year, Canadian Government decided on a quota of 275,000 harp seals, thus taking the first place in the world’s infamous seal hunt ranking. In case of hooded seals, the 2008 quota is 8,200 animals.
The seal hunt in Canada has been the subject of interest of societies and governments of many countries, as well as of EU institutions for many years. As you certainly know, it was already in 1983 that the European Union prohibited for humanitarian reasons the import of products from hunting whitecoats (harp seal pups below 2 weeks of age) and bluebacks (hooded seals below 14 months of age). However, in recent years, there has been an increase in the seal hunting and the number of animals killed has exceeded 300,000 annually. A definitely negative attitude of European societies to the cruel hunts, supported by independent experts’ reports and large documentation of abuse, was reflected by a recommendation of the Council of Europe calling the Canadian law-makers to amend the law to eliminate cruel hunting and stunning practices, and more importantly by the European Parliament’s September 2006 declaration appealing to the European Commission for an all EU ban on import, export and trade in any products coming from harp and hooded seal hunt. The Commission has so far withheld its decision, waiting for a confirmation of reports of utmost cruelty taking place during the hunt. European Food Safety Authority was requested to prepare an objective and scientific report on the subject. This report has recently been published and it fully confirms the grounds for the accusations raised so far by many non-governmental organisations and scientific circles independent of the fur trade:
- before the slaughter, seals are often chased to form dense groups, which makes them panic when they can see how their companions are being killed;
- some seals are killed in ways which cause their long-time agony – e.g. fishing nets and traps installed under the ice are used;
- during the hunts, adult seals are shot at from long distances by hunters moving in boats maneuvering among the ice floes, which generates many missed shots and a number of wounded animals escape, either to heal in a long process or to die in unspeakable pain;
- control over the hunting methods is definitely insufficient (independent witnesses are practically not admitted to the scene).
It should also be noted that the hunters aim at killing mostly the clumsy seal pups (the ban in reference to harp seals, concerns only the pups below 2 weeks of age). The hunt takes place soon after huge areas of ice floe become wintess of seal pups birth. Seal pups are completely defenceless, with no instinctual fear, only starting to learn how to live independently, they are still unable to swim. They become easy prey to the fur industry which produces luxurious fur coats, a product perfectly dispensable these days!
Regardless of the decision of the European Union, many countries have already implemented their own bans on imports of seal products: the USA, Mexico, and in Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, Croatia, Slovenia and, in fact, Louxemburg (by means of a 2004 decree). Similar bans are being considered in Germany, Austria, Great Britain, France and Italy.
Public opinion polls show that an increasing number of people strongly oppose the slaughter of seals.On behalf of myself and tens of thousands of people who have actively supported the introduction of such ban, I would be extremely grateful if you could undertake measures to implement it on the level of European Union and help to end this cruel hunt.
Yours sincerely,
(Twoje imię i nazwisko)
