Text tabled : A6-0118/2009

  Martin Callanan (PPE-DE), in writing. − I have been lobbied heavily by animal rights groups and constituents about this issue but I am very sceptical in principle about banning things. Ultimately consumers will decide if they want to buy seal products. I was proud to have contributed to the campaign to ban imports of cat and dog fur from China but the import of seal products is a very different issue based on traditional culture and practice over centuries.

Bullfighting and cockfighting are unsavoury spectacles but the EU recognises that they should be allowed to continue within the EU in regions where an unbroken tradition exists. It would therefore be hypocritical for the EU to ban seal products from Canada on the basis of animal cruelty. I am also hesitant to antagonise Canada, which is a great ally of the EU and shares our common values.

I reject animal cruelty but I believe this issue has been deliberately distorted in order to provoke an emotive response among MEPs. We should approach such matters in a more balanced and dispassionate way.