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Loading...China to Canada: We Won’t Be a Dumping Ground for Slaughtered Seals
More than 50 Chinese environmental and animal advocacy organizations have sent an open letter to the Canadian senate asking that Canada stop exporting seal products to China, reports the Humane Society International.
“We are writing to the Senate because we are disappointed in the Canadian government,” said Madame Qin Xiaona, director of Beijing’s Capital Animal Welfare Association. “We want Canadian Senators to realize that Ottawa’s promotion of seal products in China is unwise and short-sighted. It has caused irreparable damage to Canada’s reputation in China. Our campaign against seal product trade will continue until the Canadian government ceases its efforts to promote these products of cruelty in China.”
The letter calls Canada’s commercial slaughter cruel, outdated and unnecessary and follows a growing number of bans on seal products around the world and comes weeks before the senate will debate a bill that would bring the commercial seal hunt to an end.
Please be assured that China will never become a dumping ground for products of cruelty that the rest of the world has so overtly rejected. Like their Canadian, American, European and Russian counterparts, Chinese consumers care about animal welfare and food safety, and we strongly oppose trade in products from commercial seal slaughters.
Statements by Canadian sealing industry representatives that seal meat should be in demand in China because “Chinese people eat anything” are offensive to say the least and highly misleading. In China, seals are a protected species, and seal meat is not a part of our tradition. Despite the massive subsidies invested by unwilling Canadian taxpayers for more than three decades to promote seal fur and meat in China, significant markets have never emerged. Knowing full well the public opposition to commercial sealing, the animal welfare problems associated with seal slaughters and the food safety issues surrounding seal meat, the Chinese authorities have, in fact, made no commitment to importing this product. Chinese consumers are increasingly concerned with food safety, and both the Chinese government and public are aware of the reported high levels of PCBs in seals.
The bill that could end the hunt, S-210, was introduced by Senator Mac Harb and moved forward this summer after receiving support from Senator Larry Campbell. The bill cites a lack of viable markets, opposition from a majority of Canadians, a dropping number of sealers who participated last year and scientific evidence that seals are not responsible for poor recovery of fish stocks as legitimate reasons for ending the hunt.
The legislation would provide compensation for fishermen and transition them out of this dying industry, but is still receiving opposition from legislators who want to see the slaughter continue, with at least one calling a debate over the issue a waste of taxpayer money …even though the real waste of money comes from Canada’s continued efforts to find markets for seal products and its decision to spend an estimated $10 million, far more than what the sealing industry is worth, by pursuing a legal challenge at the World Trade Organisation over the EU’s ban on seal products.
“Despite the millions of taxpayers’ dollars spent by the Canadian government to promote seal products in Southeast Asia, China has failed to emerge as a significant market for seal products,” said Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane Society International/Canada. “Chinese animal protection and environmental groups are more determined than ever to make sure their country does not become a dumping ground for these products.”
Hopefully, strong opposition from one of the last markets for seal products will bring this industry to an end once and for all.
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Read more: canada, china, seal slaughter, seals
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Thank you for sharing.
g like the pot calling the kettle black. China will be telling us what to do soon enough if we allow Harper to allow FIPA to be signed. May God protect us.
Harper wants to allow foreign corporations the legal right throughout Canada for 31 years to destroy nature, animals, Canadians and Canada herself and sue us for trying to protect these.
Dear friend,
Prime Minister Harper gets back to Canada this weekend after a trip to India. Top of his agenda is likely to be deciding what to do next about the Canada-China FIPA, the investment deal that would give multinational corporations unprecedented powers to stop the Canadian government from protecting our environment and natural resources, and allow foreign corporations to sue Canadian governments for huge amounts of money if our government did anything to limit their profits (like, you know, try to protect the environment).
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada is running a public consultation process on the environmental impacts of FIPA with a deadline of this Sunday. After the setback we dealt it last week, the Harper government is hoping to be able to point to this public consultation as proof the process has been transparent -- and argue that no one is worried about environmental impacts of FIPA. But we can foil him by flooding the process with comments tens from thousands of Canadians in the next 48 hours.
I just submitted an email to the Canada Trade Agreements Secretariat. Will you join me?
http://action.sumofus.org/a/fipa-letter/?sub=taf
Thanks!
It is interesting
Kudos to these Chinese activists, Canadian citizens, and other concerned peoples.
This extremely cruel and wasteful practice must end.
Chinese advocates please work to end the extremely cruel dog meat, bear bile, and endangered animal parts (rhino horn tiger parts, etc) trades.
Animal abuse, exploitation and eradication must end everywhere!
Yes, America is guilty too. Check out our "meat" rendering practices. The eradication of wolves, BLM selling wild horses for slaughter, eradication of prarie dogs, cruel veal, dairy and egg harvesting.
Mexico = horse slaughter.
Cruelty to caribou herds used for meat in some northlands.
Peru has a mass animal killing blood orgy, killing 20, 000 animals any way they want, literally hacking them to pieces, Africa does the same to bulls.
Spain's cruel bull fights. America's cruel rodeos.
Australia's shark eradication and kangaroo "management"
China skinning canine dogs and Racoon dogs (non canine) alive for "meat" and fur trades, is horrendous! I never knew these beautiful Raccon Dogs existed until reading about them being sadistically exploited.
PLEASE STOP BARBERIC PRACTICES AGAINST ALL ANIMALS EVERYWHERE!
THESE BEAUTIFUL SPEECHLESS ANIMALS CAN'T SAY "STOP", SO WE MUST.
END CRUELTY EVERYWHERE!
Thanks
Its good that people care and yes everywhere in every country,there is animal abuse and tortures.We all have in common to put all this abuse away for all mankind to follow.We need change and we need each other to get the changes for the voiceless (Animals,Etc.) we all have blame to go around,blame will slow down progress,lets keep focused together as one against all this abuse and demand no less from anyone or country.NO MORE EXCUSES FOR ANIMAL ABUSE AND OR TORTURES!!!!
Leslie S., I do try to remain cordial as much as possible. But when somebody decides to curse my ENTIRE COUNTRY for the actions of a relative few, I understandably get a little ANGRY.
What a pleasant surprise! Now lets put an end to the seal hunt
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