European Seal Fur Ban
A few weeks ago I added my name to a petition that would be offered to the European Parliament to ban the import of seal fur in Europe. And yesterday the EP agreed on this ban with an overwhelming 550 votes against 49!!!!! It will be illegal to import seal fur in Europe and I think that is great news.
There are a few exceptions to this ban though, for example the Inuit people are allowed to still sell their fur in Europe under very strict laws. And transit from fur through Europe will still be allowed.
I would have liked to see a complete ban on seal fur but this is a huge step in the right direction! There is a complete ban on fur trade and transit in The Netherlands and Belgium already, so I’m very proud to live in a country that is right on top when it comes to the fur trade (amongst other things).
Seals are killed in a very cruel way and sometimes are still alive when they’re skinned. Being an animal lover I’m against animal cruelty and if this were cows or other animals I would have been against it too. So this doesn’t have anything to do with the ‘cute’ factor but all with animal welfare.
For what it’s worth I’m against fur farms too, because those animals too are killed for their fur only. But setting them free isn’t the answer either, as most animals grew up in captivity they don’t know how to survive in the wild. Therefore they will die a slow death of starvation which is just as cruel.
I do buy leather products, and that might sound hypocrite but I believe that cattle is killed for food first and then for their skin to make leather products. Yes, it does involve killing animals for food and skin but it’s done in a more humane way (as far as killing is humane). I do not buy snake skin or alligator purses (or any other products) because those animals are killed, like seals, primarily for their skin!
So, hypocrite or not, I’m glad there is a ban on seal fur now, a good step towards stopping animal cruelty. Now I hope they are going to try to stop wale hunting, or grinding chicks to bits while they are still alive!!!
3 Comments on "European Seal Fur Ban"
I do eat meat, but only for health reasons and if I eat a piece of meat once every 2-3 weeks that’s a lot for me. If it weren’t for specific health reasons I wouldn’t eat it at all.
I also absolutely don’t like the meat industry, it’s generally a very horrific thing too. Killing an animal is never a humane thing to do but it can be done in a ‘more humane’ way than beating animals to death. I think animals should run free (or at least in a field) even if they are supposed to be killed for ‘our’ meat desires.
Animal rights isn’t just for the cute animals, it’s for all animals.
I’m with you on this. I’m not vegetarian but I do what I can to help out animals without killing myself (I generally don’t eat nuts and don’t like beans, legumes and tofu… which is going to be problematic if I were to become vegetarian as these are the most common protein substitutes)
I think it’s better to do what you can in whatever way you can help than to not do anything at all because you can’t be a committed vegan.
Leave a comment
Before you post be aware that first-time commenters are moderated and anonymous comments will be deleted.
Do you eat meat, too? It makes more sense if you are pro-leather, pro-meat, and pro-fur. It does make you a hypocrite if you don’t like fur but do like the meat industry ;/