http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/27/2503826.htm
Putin condemns hunting of baby seals
Posted Fri Feb 27, 2009 10:00pm AEDT
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin showed a soft spot in
his tough-guy image by condemning the hunting of baby
whitecoat seals, Russian newspapers have reported.
"This is a bloody business and it clearly should have
been banned long ago," Mr Putin said during a meeting
with his cabinet, quoted by official government daily
Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
The comments came after Russia's natural resources
minister told Mr Putin that under new rules, hunters in the
far north were banned from killing the youngest kind of
seals, known as whitecoats for the colour of their fur.
Many countries have banned the large-scale hunting of
whitecoat seals following protests by environmental groups.
Although Mr Putin is better known in the West for pushing a
muscular foreign policy and tightening control over the
Russian political system, he has occasionally shown
compassion for wildlife and nature.
In 2006 he decided to re-route a controversial oil pipeline
around Siberia's Lake Baikal, winning praise from
environmental groups, and last October he was shown on
television cuddling a tiger cub he had received as a
birthday gift.
- AFP