Sir Paul McCartney: European Union Must Ban Seal Products Now

(Jan. 31, 2008) ¯ Paul McCartney is calling on citizens around the
world to speak out against commercial seal hunting in an appeal
distributed by Humane Society International and The Humane Society
of the United States. The European Union is currently considering a
ban on the trade of all seal products, which could save millions of
seals from cruel slaughter. Click here to read the entire statement.

McCartney, who traveled to Canada's harp seal nursery in 2006 to
protest their annual commercial seal hunt, is asking the public for
help in making the European Union ban a reality. The European Union
is accepting public comments until Feb. 13.

"The sight of mothers and their pups on the pristine ice is one I
won't forget, and I've committed myself to working to preserve that
wondrous spectacle for generations to come," said McCartney.

"For so many years, we've tried to stop this senseless brutality.
Now, there is new hope for the seals. The EU is considering ending
all seal product trade in the European Union, regardless of the age
of the seals," continued McCartney. "This move would save millions
of seals from slaughter, and help put a final end to commercial seal
hunting globally."

Twenty-five years ago, the European Union made history when it ended
its trade in products from newborn harp seals. Commercial seal
hunting in some countries came to a virtual standstill, and
countless numbers of baby seals were saved. But the hunters soon
began to kill the pups when they were slightly older-and the
products from those baby seals are legally traded in the EU. Today,
some commercial seal hunts are twice as large as they were when the
EU first took action. A ban on the trade of all seal products in the
EU could spell the end of many commercial seal hunts.

As a strong proponent of government sponsored programs to retire
sealing licenses, fairly compensating seal hunters for lost revenue
as commercial hunting is ended, McCartney's statement
concludes, "Commercial seal hunting doesn't simply cause
unimaginable suffering to the seals; it is also dehumanizing and
often dangerous work, contributing very little to the incomes of the
hunters. A European Union ban on all seal product trade would force
nations where seal hunting has taken place to invest in real
alternatives - jobs that will provide safe and sustainable futures."

For more information, please visit humanesociety.org/bansealtrade.

FACTS:

· About three quarters of a million seals are killed in
commercial seal hunts around the world each year. Canada's is the
largest, with nearly one million seals killed in the past three
years, and smaller seal hunts occur in other countries including
Greenland, Russia, Namibia and Norway.

· Commercial seal hunts often target defenseless seal pups.
In Canada, more than 95 percent of the seals killed each year are
less than 3 months old. In Namibia, virtually all of the seals
killed are nursing pups.

· Hunters primarily kill the seals for their skins, which
are sold to fashion markets in Europe and Asia.

· Seal hunting is often supplementary income for the
hunters, virtually all of whom are commercial fishermen or seasonal
workers. In Canada, revenues from sealing account for, on average,
less than 5 percent of the annual incomes of the seal hunters.

· A 2007 study by a panel of veterinary and zoology experts
who studied the Canadian commercial seal hunt found a widespread
disregard for the Marine Mammal Regulations by sealers, a failure to
monitor the hunt by authorities, high wounding rates in seals that
were shot or clubbed, wounded seals left to suffer for protracted
periods of time, and sealers failing to ensure animals were dead in
66 percent of cases. The report concluded that both clubbing and
shooting of seals should be considered unacceptable.

· A recent scientific opinion by the Panel on Animal Health
and Welfare requested by the European Commission concluded, "When
seals are hit or shot, but are not dead, they may have to be hit or
shot again or may be moved or skinned whilst conscious, resulting in
avoidable pain, distress, fear and other forms of suffering"
and "seals should be protected from acts that cause them avoidable
pain, distress, fear and other forms of suffering."

· Nations around the world have taken action to end their
trade in seal products or announced their intention to do so,
including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Croatia,
Slovenia, France, Italy, Panama, Mexico and the United States.

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Humane Society International is the international arm of The Humane
Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection
organization - backed by 10 million Americans, or one of every 30.
For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the
protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on
programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty -- On the web
at www.humanesociety.org.