 Russia said Wednesday it had banned the hunting of baby seals, weeks after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called it a "bloody industry."
"The bloody sight of the hunting of seals, the slaughter of these defenseless animals which you cannot even call a real hunt, is banned in our country, just as well as in most developed countries, and is a serious step to protect the biodiversity of the Russian Federation," the minister for natural resources, Yuri Trutnev, said in a statement.
Seals inhabit Russia's White Sea region in the Arctic. As in Canada and Norway, hunters target the fluffy baby seals -- also known as "whitecoats" for their highly valued snow-white fur -- in early spring and club thousands to death.
Putin has a reputation as an animal lover, and says killing seals, "should have been banned a long time ago."
Calling the annual "harvesting" of baby seals a "hunt" is grotesque distortion. It's anything but a "hunt." It's slaughter, and has little economic value.
There are an estimated 200,000 harp seals in Russia's White Sea sealing grounds -- down by 90% from when they were first counted 80 years ago. Some 35,000 baby seals are killed each year when they are about six weeks old and their coats a dazzling white.
The ban was imposed by the Russian Federal Fisheries Agency. The documentation has been sent for state registration with the Ministry of Justice.
"We are delighted at the adoption of this decision and would like to separately underline the important role played by the Russian Natural Resources Ministry in this cause. Thanks to their efforts this has finally taken place. Being a state structure, it greatly influenced the advancement of this process," International Fund for Animal Welfare's Anna Filippova said.Labels: IFAW, russia, seals |
