LE COMMERCE DE PEAUX DE PHOQUES INTERDIT EN U.E.

[Cath10 0]

Je transmets :

02.03.09 - 19:00 (RTBF) (Belga) (IFAW) La commission Marché intérieur du Parlement européen s'est prononcée pour une interdiction totale en Europe du commerce de peaux de phoque et autres produits dérivés, suivant en cela la législation belge.
Ce vote intervient un an après une proposition de la Commission européenne visant à réglementer sévèrement le commerce de peaux de phoques en Europe, au grand dam de certains Etats membres, nordiques pour la plupart.

Lundi, la commission compétente du Parlement européen est allée encore plus loin que ce que proposait l'exécutif européen en appuyant une interdiction pure et simple de ce négoce, à l'exception des peaux chassées par les esquimaux.

"Une interdiction d'importation est la manière la plus efficace de mettre un terme à ces pratiques inhumaines dont sont victimes chaque année des centaines de milliers d'animaux", a commenté l'eurodéputée belge Marianne Thyssen (CD&V) après le vote.

Cette position de la commission devra toutefois encore être confirmée en plénière, sans doute avant les élections européennes de juin. Il appartiendra ensuite aux Etats membres de se prononcer.

La Belgique interdit déjà l'importation de peaux de phoques et produits dérivés depuis 2007.
Phoques et bébés phoques.

[Animal 0]

Merci Cath pour cette excellente nouvelle !

[Cath10 0]

De rien! C'est super!

L'Humane Society Internaitonal se dit très satisfaite de cette décision. L'industrie de la pêche, elle, n'est pas très contente... hehehe.


EU edges toward banning seal hunt products

European parliamentary committee took the first step toward banning imported seal products Monday in a vote closely watched by anti-sealing activists and the 150 Nova Scotians with licences to hunt the animals.

The committee met in Brussels and voted against an initial bill that would have created a stringent labelling system on imported seal products.

The revised bill now calls for a ban on all imported seal products, with the exception of those produced by Canada’s and Greenland’s Inuit communities, The Canadian Press reported.

The bill was approved by a vote of 25 to 7.

The federal fisheries minister had met with European officials in the weeks leading up to the committee’s vote, which she described Monday as "extremely disappointing."

"It just exemplifies that despite our best efforts, the Europeans are still uninformed and they’re being led by what amounts to politics and emotions on this issue — and not the facts," Fisheries Minister Gail Shea told The Chronicle Herald in a telephone interview from Ottawa.

The decision will not become law unless it is approved by the European assembly and parliaments, Ms. Shea said Monday. That vote is scheduled to take place in the spring.

Ms. Shea said the government brought in independent veterinarians to reassure the European Union that Canadian sealers were using humane standards in their harvest.

"The Europeans defined a problem, we addressed the problem, but they’re still voting for the ban. What it tells me is that their voting was to stop the Canadian seal hunt. Period. That’s why I think the Europeans are in an area that is outside their jurisdiction, here."

Should the EU end up passing the legislation, Canada would likely look to the World Trade Organization to see whether the move would violate international trade rules.

About 150 sealers in Nova Scotia could be directly affected by the ban because Europe is one of the primary markets for seal pelts.
But the decision could also have devastating effects for the province’s entire fishing industry, the president of the North of Smokey Fishermen’s Association said.

"What effect is this going to have not only on the sealing industry, but . . . on the fishing industry in general?" Robert Courtney said.

"Without a harvest there’s going to have to be some other kind of control . . . to keep the herd in check. If not, well then the whole fishing industry in Atlantic Canada is in jeopardy."

Fishermen and the activists have repeatedly disagreed about the need for the seal harvest, with the sealers arguing that a regulated cull is vital to preserving the region’s groundfish stocks.

Rebecca Aldworth of the Humane Society International Canada watched live footage of the decision Monday.

"We’re just immensely satisfied with the results. This is a clear indication that there is a strong will within the European Parliament to prohibit seal product trade (with) strong bans on seal trade."

Both sides will have to wait until the spring to learn the EU’s final decision. Ottawa will be launching an advertising campaign in European media in the interim, Ms. Shea said.


Source : http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1109306.html

[Animal 0]

Citation :

"Without a harvest there’s going to have to be some other kind of control . . . to keep the herd in check.

What sort of control ?
Qu'ils s'occupent donc de contrôler la surpêche par les prédateurs humains