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| Australian company in the market for Namibian seal skins |
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The annual Namibian baby Cape fur seal cull, which has been identified as "the world's largest and cruellest slaughter of seals" and has been boycotted by the European Union, the United States, Mexico and South Africa, is due to recommence on 1 July. This year, Namibia’s Government has set a kill quota of 91,000 cape fur seals, which includes 85,000 pups and 6,000 bulls (male seals). While it has been alleged that the cull is necessary to address the threat posed by the seal population to Namibia's fisheries, scientific evidence suggests that the set quota may in fact exceed the number of pups alive. Additionally, a 2007 report by WSPA, which examined regulations relating to the seal cull in Namibia concluded that ‘the degree of pain, distress and suffering experienced by suckling pups targeted as part of the hunt is likely to be severe.’ Bringing the matter closer to home, the South African animal rights group Seal Alert SA has alleged that an Australian-based company, Hatem Yavuz, was the only buyer of Namibian seal skins last year. This seems somewhat ironic given that fur seals are protected in Australian waters. Follow this link to find out more about the international campaign aimed at ending this cruelty or this link to contact the Federal Minister for Trade, the Hon. Simon Crean MP, to express your concerns about the importation of cruel fur products to Australia generally. Sources Animals Australia, ‘Aussie Company Supports Cruel Seal Cull’, <http://www.animalsaustralia.org/take_action/namibian-seal-slaughter/> at 25 June 2009. LAAR, 'Seal Alert-SA – Why Namibia’s Seal Pup Cull is the Cruellest, and must be Stopped', Seal Alert-SA Media Release, 24 June 2009 <http://sealalertsa.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/seal-alert-sa-why-namibias-seal-pup-cull-is-the-cruellest-and-must-be-stopped/> at 25 June 2009. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Animal Health and Welfare on a request from the Commission on the Animal Welfare aspects of the killing and skinning of seals. The EFSA Journal (2007) 610, 1-122 at 4.3.7 <http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa_locale-1178620753812_1178671319178.htm> at 25 June 2009.
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