Canadian sealers disappointed by EU court ruling

(OTTAWA) - Canada's Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said Thursday she was disappointed with a European court's refusal to suspend a ban on the import of seal products in Europe.

Canada is pursuing the issue through the World Trade Organization and "we hope to get resolution through that medium... because we feel that the European Union is in violation of international trade laws," Shea told reporters.

The second round of WTO negotiations are expected to start in November.

"I'd like to express my disappointment with the ruling of the European Court of Justice," which rejected Inuit hunters' argument that the embargo on seal products would cause severe financial damage and raise the risk of suicide among youths in their communities, the Canadian minister added.

The European Parliament endorsed the ban last year after a public outcry over Canada's annual commercial seal hunt, which animal rights activists denounce as cruel.

The decision angered Canada and prompted a legal challenge by Inuit groups from Canada and Greenland.

The European ban includes an exemption for seal products derived from hunts traditionally conducted by Inuit and indigenous communities for subsistence, dealing a blow to hunters and fur traders.

Despite the exemption, Inuits insist the move adversely affects them because it shrinks the market for the product. They also fear the exemption would not always be respected.

The ban took partial effect on August 20 with a temporary exemption for Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), a native Canadian group, and 15 other plaintiffs who sought a freeze until Europe's top court makes a final ruling.

Jaeger rejected their request, making it a total ban until the European Court of Justice decides on the legality of the prohibition.

The ITK declined comment, but the Fur Institute of Canada's seals and sealing network coordinator David Barry told AFP that Canadian hunters and sealers were also "disappointed."

"The ban itself is discriminatory and unjust, and it does absolute nothing to address the issues of marine conservation or animal welfare," he said.