World Trade Organization affirms ban on seal products

By Phillip Yu

A recent World Trade Organization panel decision on the European Union affirmed the prohibition of the general sale of seal products. The WTO originally issued this ban in 2009, citing public concerns about the pain and suffering that hunting and skinning causes to seals. Canada had appealed the ban, arguing that seal hunting is humane. However, the WTO stood its ground, recognizing action against cruelty to animals as “a matter of ethical responsibility for human beings in general.”