Ensuring a Sustainable and Humane Seal Harvest - Nunavut ...

TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction ................................................................................................................ 1Past Committee Report.............................................................................................. 2The Anti-Seal Harvest Campaign in Europe .............................................................. 3Recommendation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe......... 5The European Parliament’s Written Declaration on Banning Seal Products in theEuropean Union............................................................................................ 6Sustainability of the Seal Harvest .............................................................................. 8Ecological Balance................................................................................................... 11Economic and Cultural Importance of the Seal Harvest........................................... 11The Inuit Seal Harvest and the Impact of a New Ban .............................................. 12Humane Killing Methods .......................................................................................... 14The Observation of the Seal Harvest ....................................................................... 19Other Management and Enforcement Issues .......................................................... 21Increase in the Grey Seal Population and the Harvest ............................................ 21Conclusions and Recommendations........................................................................ 22APPENDIX A : Recommendations of the Seal Report (June 1999) .............................. 29APPENDIX B : List of Witnesses................................................................................... 35APPENDIX C : List of Briefs.......................................................................................... 39Request for Government Response.............................................................................. 41vii