OTTAWA (AFP) — Canada's fisheries minister on Wednesday warned the European Union that its proposed ban on seal products should not target his country's "humanely conducted hunt."
"Once again, we would like to caution European decision-makers: adopting broad regulations to ban products from a responsible, sustainable and well-regulated hunt is a slippery slope," said Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn.
"To bow to misinformation and emotional rhetoric in restricting the trade of humanely harvested animals would set a dangerous precedent for all wild hunts."
Although the ban is said to target Canada, Hearn insisted that Canada's annual slaughter of up to 275,000 seals is "a humanely conducted hunt," and a ban of Canadian seal products would be "without cause."
Fisheries department spokesman Phil Jenkins told AFP the EU has "not said exactly what they will consider to be humane or inhumane, so we don't know yet what bar we have to reach to comply."
Canadian officials will be reviewing how the proposed regulations and any exemptions would apply to Canada, said Hearn.
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