China gives Canada its approval of seal
Far from the outrage of Europe, Beijing fashion show bestows warm embrace
By Bill Schiller Asia Bureau
Published On Wed Jan 13 2010

http://i47.tinypic.com/1zflz7b.jpg
A model, far left, wears a Canadian seal fur creation at a Beijing fashion show, while another model sports a Canadian-made fur design. (Jan. 12, 2010)
BILL SCHILLER/TORONTO STAR

BEIJING–The fur didn't fly here Tuesday.

Instead, it strode down a Beijing catwalk without interruption.

The Canadian seal and fur industry brought its fashion designs to a premier Beijing fashion show yesterday, winning warm applause.

Had this been Europe there might have been cans of red paint hurled, incendiary banners held aloft, and outraged protest.

But this is China.

Here, where protests are banned and fur is popular, the show was a success – part of a larger strategy by the Harper government to work hand-in-hand with the Canadian seal industry to rebuild its challenged markets.

Canada was effectively thumbing its nose at the European Union Tuesday, the organization that banned the importation of Canadian seal products last year.

Instead, Canada has set about to woo the Chinese to open its gates to Canadian seal meat.

Shunned by Brussels, Ottawa believes China will do nicely as a replacement market and has tremendous potential, especially with its 1.3 billion people.

China already buys seal oil and fur from Canada. Meat would seem the next natural step.

And success might be at hand.

"We're very optimistic we'll be able to export seal meat into China," Canadian Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said here, following the fashion show featuring Canadian designs of sealskin and fur.

As she spoke she wore a ribbon of seal fur on her label, a sign, she said, of her support for the Canadian seal hunt.

There are two hunts per year: one in the Arctic held by Inuit, the other, larger one in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

More than 15,500 Canadians have seal hunting permits.

Shea said her delegation had good discussions with Chinese officials, as well as with importers who normally handle Canadian fish imports.

The Chinese don't normally eat seal meat. They have a small number of seals in the country, but they're protected.

Canadian officials said the Chinese would cultivate a taste for the delicacy – not a tall task given their prized and inventive culinary culture.

"We're now at what we think is the end of a process of formally lifting those restrictions (on seal meat)," said Mike Pearson, director general of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, who was part of the talks.

Neither he nor the minister, however, would predict when China will allow Canadian seal imports.

Shea arrived here Sunday on a 72-hour trip – her first to China – to attend the 36th China Fur and Leather Products Fair, and discuss fisheries' issues with senior Chinese officials.

But developing the seal market appears to be her priority.

"We'd like to expand the market," she said in an interview. "China has a huge population and very good potential as a market for Canada."

Traditionally the Chinese were interested only in pelts, but in recent years they've begun buying omega-3 oils. Now there is research into developing a protein powder as well as the potential use of seal heart valves for transplantation into in humans.

"This (latter) is an exciting project with potential benefit to the entire world," she said.

More and more researchers are looking at using the "whole" animal and they see "tremendous opportunity. Exports in Canada's $13-million seal industry were valued at $10 million last year.

A Fisheries spokesman said Canada exported $1.1 million in seal fats and oil to China in 2009, while an unknown percentage in pelts went to the country after being manufactured into boots and other clothing.

Canada has seemed much more aggressive about standing up for the industry since last spring, when Governor General Michaëlle Jean ate a slaughtered seal's raw heart while visiting an Inuit community near Rankin Inlet, Nunavut.

The event captured massive media attention at home and abroad.

Asked at the time whether she was doing it to send a message to the Europeans, Jean replied, "Take from that what you will."

Said Shea, "It was a great show of support for the Canadian sealing industry."

But no one has persuaded the EU to reverse its ban on seal products.

Today the government is appealing the European Union's decision to the World Trade Organization.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/china/article/749988--china-gives-canada-its-approval-of-seal

Bravo. :applause:

ohoh... here we go again. Flocks of European members who have never posted in the Canada forums will suddenly pop up to berate us. ;)

good work China!

I'll be more supportive of the European stance when they condemn fashion shows in Paris and Milan featuring leather clothing and shoes, and close abattoirs in every city. Until then it strikes me that they rather hypocritically approve of slaughtering ugly animals, but not those with cute faces.

Take that, Europe! :D

Funniest thing was when I was starting my job here in Madrid back in December, a representative of the Canadian embassy came by to give the Canadian cultural ambassadors a package... This package included, among others, a pamphlet explaining why the seal hunt is important to Canadians.

We all had a great laugh.. I have it somewhere in the apartment.

Where as I dont feel its " imprortant " to our culture, I do feel Seal's are a resource as is everything and as long as it is regulated then it should work out well.

The seal hunt is certainly important to the indigenous peoples, and has been for many thousands of years. I think we all insist on a regulated, sustainable industry, however.

The seal hunt is vital for culling the population. Seals are a far bigger threat to the Cod then any fishing. Even if we stop selling their meat and pelts we'd still have to kill a few hundred thousand a year. The only way to stop hunting them is to introduce a predator into the area to kill them for us.

I suggest this as a predator.. let's just hope it doesn't make its way down south.

http://blogs.amctv.com/scifi-scanner/AVP_Xenomorph.jpg

If Europe acted so aggressively to save endangered species, there wouldn't be any.

This could be very good for the economy of the Atlantic provinces and Nunavut.

Funny they never seem to complain about bullfights in Spain, or dog racing in Britain, or Halal killing of animals. They are selective about what is acceptable, and what is not.... and cute baby eyed seals are apparently "not".

Kosher killing of animals is similar to Halal, isn't it? You'd probably get arrested in Germany for speaking out against it though.

That is AWEsome. China will bring in LOADS of coin for Canada. If the Chinese have a demand for these animals, Canada has plenty. And yes, they most certainly need to be regulated. Cod stocks would vanish and the U.K. wouldn't have a chance to eat it, and Portugal would collapse as a country.

So... keep the cod population large and healthy, and keep the seal population regulated...and make money off it! Whusss uuup!

That's gross. But then again, I've seen horrific videos of Chinese people skinning animals alive, after having beat them over the head with planks of wood, or being held by the feet and smacking their heads on the ground. So it comes as no surprise.

I can guarantee people are going to go and stain the animals fur, and I totally support them. :)

That's gross. But then again, I've seen horrific videos of Chinese people skinning animals alive, after having beat them over the head with planks of wood, or being held by the feet and smacking their heads on the ground. So it comes as no surprise.

I can guarantee people are going to go and stain the animals fur, and I totally support them. :)

So you'd rather see people just kill the animal and waste everything on them so they died in vain? I'm not sure I'm understanding you.
What part of 'THE SEAL POPULATION MUST BE REGULATED' don't you understand?

Seal hunting is part of the culture of the Inuit people who make good use out of the animal; it seems to me like hypocrisy to barbarize a culture for such actions when we treat animals like pigs, cows, and chickens in such terrible ways.

Oh right, seals are cute. How silly of me.

Oh right, seals are cute. How silly of me.



BINGO!!!!


Double standards by people who have no idea what they're talking about.
Makes me sick.

That's gross. But then again, I've seen horrific videos of Chinese people skinning animals alive, after having beat them over the head with planks of wood, or being held by the feet and smacking their heads on the ground. So it comes as no surprise.

As far as the clubbing seals thing goes, it might not be perfect...but its a hell of a lot more humane than what cows, pigs, chickens, etc. experience in the factories that mass produce meat products for fast food businesses and the like. And no, no seals are being skinned alive here.


I can guarantee people are going to go and stain the animals fur, and I totally support them. :)

Do you support doing the same to people wearing leather or fur clothing that comes from animals other than seals?

So you'd rather see people just kill the animal and waste everything on them so they died in vain? I'm not sure I'm understanding you.
What part of 'THE SEAL POPULATION MUST BE REGULATED' don't you understand?

So long as they're killed humanely and for a purpose. i.e. if the Canadian Indigenous population were/are killing them for food etc., and the animal is dead when skinned.... that I don't have a problem with. The problem comes when greedy people who see the potential money and go out killing thousands of seals or any animals for their fur.

Do you know how many times THAT has been said, Oaronuviss?

Oh lord! :D

http://myspace.roflposters.com/images/rofl/myspace/1213211401454.jpg.%5Broflposters.com%5D.myspace.jpg

Greedy people around the world kill animals every day for leather. I don't see how fur is different than leather. It all comes from the same skin, no?

How do people think animals die in abattoirs? They don't die of old age, or heart attacks. They don't just give up the will to live and expire; they are slashed, clubbed or electrocuted to death. Behind nice thick concrete walls where the public can't see them.

How would people feel if someone ran up to them and sprayed paint on their new Fendi shoes, or on their Armani leather jackets?

How would people feel if someone ran up to them and sprayed paint on their new Fendi shoes, or on their Armani leather jackets?

People who get paint on their Fendi shoes should be happy they have an excuse not to wear the disgraceful shoes. :)

Good job China! It's great to see that they aren't buying into that absurd Euro-centric hypocrisy. :okay:

Message to Europe: we'll get rid of our seal hunt when you get rid of you beef/chicken/pig hunt.

^^ and bullfighting, and dog racing! and and and........... ;)

and dare I add, Dime.... Kangaroo? :D

Seal hunting is part of the culture of the Inuit people who make good use out of the animal; it seems to me like hypocrisy to barbarize a culture for such actions when we treat animals like pigs, cows, and chickens in such terrible ways.

If something is part of a culture or tradition it doesn't mean it's necessarily something positive and worth keeping. Witch-hunting was also a part of the culture 300 years ago.

^^ The people in the north can't exactly go to Safeway and buy food. The ocean is their grocery store, and if we ban eating seal or polar bear, we're basically starving them, or forcing them to spend $14 for a litre of milk, $8 for a loaf of bread, $21/kilogram for tomatoes, etc. Even people in road-based communities in Ontario's far north depend more on the land than grocery stores for their food. In Nakina (http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&source=hp&q=Nakina,+Ontario&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Nakina,+Greenstone,+Thunder+Bay+District,+Ontario&gl=ca&ei=4D9RS5GaHNTklQeD0pm9Cg&ved=0CAgQ8gEwAA&ll=50.179104,-86.709803&spn=0.907596,1.755066&z=9), a can of pop costs $6.

What part of 'THE SEAL POPULATION MUST BE REGULATED' don't you understand?

It only has to be regulated to keep our fishing industries viable. If they do eat a lot of fish, eventually many of the seals will begin starving and dying and the population will go down naturally, before the fish go extinct. The fish population will then recover, seals with it, and the equilibrium that existed between seals and fish before 1600 will be restored.

@Dymethyltryptamine: Meat from the seals killed in Atlantic Canada often is used for food. If it isn't sold, the sealers will keep it for their families. There are many traditional dishes in Newfoundland that involve seal meat.

^^ and bullfighting, and dog racing! and and and........... ;)

and dare I add, Dime.... Kangaroo? :D

Kangaroo's are pests for farmers, just like rabbits, camels and boar. ;)

The seals are pests for people who "farm" cod.

I already said that I don't care if their fur is used, provided they're killed before skinned and have been killed for an adequate reason. By adequate reason I mean, killed for food etc.

Although Kangaroo's are killed for food, they're also killed for their leather. Adidas amongst other manufacturers fund the culling of millions of Kangaroos annually for their shoes etc (It's the largest wildlife slaughter on earth) though sadly, the culling of Kangaroos is often overlooked...

^^ The people in the north can't exactly go to Safeway and buy food. The ocean is their grocery store, and if we ban eating seal or polar bear.....

They eat polar bears?

I love how we're getting our validation from China. They're simply consistent as always... what's a baby seal compared to human rights violations, lol.

They eat polar bears?

Yes. A bear will feed a family for a very long time, so they don't have to hunt as many. A community of several hundred will maybe kill only one or two per year, if that.

Kangaroo's are pests for farmers, just like rabbits, camels and boar. ;)

Seals also need to be culled, or they will also overfeed on fishing stocks. You are lucky that the international eye has not settled on the very cute 'roo yet! ;)

What does seal and polar bear taste like? Is it nasty? :( I was gonna try kangaroo when I was in Australia, but I chickened out. I'm not really a very adventurous eater, I stick to what I know. Beef, pork, chicken, rabbit. Bout it.

What does seal and polar bear taste like?

Since they are in the same "family", I'd think they'd taste like dog, not that I've tried dog meat before.

I dun wanna eat dog either. :(

How about pussy? (The meowing variant of course)..

^^ Remeber no cougars talk here no more! :D

Just a question here,when we Canadian defense ourselves to have the right for seal hunting but we accused Japanese for their whale hunting.Can some one tell me what is the different?

Just a question here,when we Canadian defense ourselves to have the right for seal hunting but we accused Japanese for their whale hunting.Can some one tell me what is the different?

The whales are the endangered animals while we have million of seals left.

I try not being unprejudiced for saying that.I do think the animals are there for a reason.I do eat meat occasionally and I also understand that everybody have the right to chose what type of animal they can eat.I am not a adventurous type of guy so I will stick with chicken and seafood.

Norwegians also hunt whales.

Whales are endangered and as intelligent in their environment as humans are in ours (as are Dolphins). I love pork but also recognize that it's probably wrong to eat such an intelligent animal (and one so close to us genetically -the meat has a similar taste to human flesh) as I would never partake of a dog for the very same reason (Pigs are smarter than canines and they KNOW when they are going to be killed).

having said that, I don't agree with the slaughter of baby seals for their fur. they are cute as shit and fur isn't exactly a cold weather necessity.

What does seal and polar bear taste like? Is it nasty? :( I was gonna try kangaroo when I was in Australia, but I chickened out. I'm not really a very adventurous eater, I stick to what I know. Beef, pork, chicken, rabbit. Bout it.

ok tell me if this is hypocrite or not.In USA and Canada also have slaughter houses for horse meat but they only allow to export their meat to China or Vietnam but will not allow to sell it here in North America,Why?

Because horses are beautiful and the Black Beauty fans would create an uprising. :)

After reading you guys posts, may be I should stop eating meats.

The seal hunt is certainly important to the indigenous peoples, and has been for many thousands of years. I think we all insist on a regulated, sustainable industry, however.

Indeed, many fail to realize the historical premise of this act. The hunt predates British colonialism not to mention trading practices.

After reading you guys posts, may be I should stop eating meats.

PPPfffffft! Who you kiddin'? Your cougar will be buying you a nice juicy ribeye steak tomorrow night at the Keg, and you will be wiping the gravy from your plate with a piece of warm bread! :yes:

PPPfffffft! Who you kiddin'? Your cougar will be buying you a nice juicy ribeye steak tomorrow night at the Keg, and you will be wiping the gravy from your plate with a piece of warm bread! :yes:

lol:lol::lol:

:lol: TB, You know me well! I really can't resist any juicy "raw" meat!

hehe! :hilarious


now I can't stop thinking about a nice juicy ribeye.......

don't fall for him TB.He is an evil.

Resident Evil!!

[QUOTE=Yellow Fever;50249131]:lol: TB, You know me well! I really can't resist any juicy "raw" meat![/Q'

'raw meat'' is not good for you.Cooked meat will kills any bacteria that contains in ''YOUR PIECE OF MEAT''.FYI.

I enjoy eating steak with the blood dripping down from the corners of my mouth. Yummmm.

Whales in general spend most of their time migrating or breeding in international waters -- no one country can claim a specie of whale as their own (iirc). If Australians decided to kill Kangaroo's, it would be allowed, within reason. The same as if Canadians wanted to kill Seals (I don't know or care if Canada has a native breed which only exists in Canada...), that's their problem... but whaling an endangered species in an international problem ;)

ok tell me if this is hypocrite or not.In USA and Canada also have slaughter houses for horse meat but they only allow to export their meat to China or Vietnam but will not allow to sell it here in North America,Why?

I don't know. :( I thought horse meat was used for animal feed to be honest. I wasn't aware it was slaughtered for export. You can buy horse meat for public consumption in some parts of the US, but most of us won't eat it.

I still don't understand why some of you guys react so defensively and talk about "hypocritical Europeans". If someone is from a European country and disagrees with cruel seal hunting, you automatically accuse him or her of being hypocritical, because there is bullfighting and dog-racing in Europe. It doesn't mean we agree with that either! Two wrongs don't make a right.

Of course two wrongs don't make a right, but that doesn't matter as most of the people here don't seem to understand it as a wrong.

Mishevy, there is an old adage: "Physician, heal thyself", which in a nutshell means clean up your own backyard before taking to the streets in protest about someone else's backyard. Otherwise, it does look like good old fashioned hypocrisy. ;)

Mishevy, there is an old adage: "Physician, heal thyself", which in a nutshell means clean up your own backyard before taking to the streets in protest about someone else's backyard. Otherwise, it does look like good old fashioned hypocrisy. ;)

But why can't I AS AN INDIVIDUAL express my disgust over seal hunting? it has nothing to do with politics of the continent I live on!

But why can't I AS AN INDIVIDUAL express my disgust over seal hunting? it has nothing to do with politics of the continent I live on!

And why can we not, as individuals, point out the hypocrisy of the organized anti sealing demonstrations in Europe? I don't see where anyone was saying that about you as an individual. You are personalizing the general discussion when we are simply responding to the anti-sealing movement in Europe.

It isn't the demonstrations that are hypocritical--they demonstrate against bullfighting and dog racing too--it is the fact that the government is using the Canadian seal hunt to appear strong on fighting cruelty against animals while doing nothing about their own countries cruelty. It is similar to Canada's opposition to human rights abuses in China while we treat our Aboriginal population like crap. Picking on China helps us feel better for our own wrongdoings.

It isn't the demonstrations that are hypocritical--they demonstrate against bullfighting and dog racing too--it is the fact that the government is using the Canadian seal hunt to appear strong on fighting cruelty against animals while doing nothing about their own countries cruelty. It is similar to Canada's opposition to human rights abuses in China while we treat our Aboriginal population like crap. Picking on China helps us feel better for our own wrongdoings.

Exactly. Criticise governments all you want, but using hypocrisy of governements as an agument in a discussion between individuals is just senseless.

Exactly. Criticise governments all you want, but using hypocrisy of governements as an agument in a discussion between individuals is just senseless.

No, as long as we are the butt of their opposition, it is NOT senseless. It would be senseless to sit back and have absolutely no opinion on matters that affect us, and our traditional culture. What is good for Europe is not necessarily automatically good for Canada.

It is similar to Canada's opposition to human rights abuses in China while we treat our Aboriginal population like crap. Picking on China helps us feel better for our own wrongdoings.

Ok, there's a difference between going out of the way to persecute a group of people, vs spending only 11 billion in poorly-executed forms of aid and reconcilliation...

As for our government's relationship with China... it really isn't is simple as with Google, lol... too nice and you're in bed with them evildoers, take a stand and you get flak for not bringing in the big bucks.

That is the truth. :yes:

Deal lets Canada sell seal products to China
PAUL WALDIE
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011 11:06AM EST
Last updated Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011 7:29PM EST

After years of battling Europeans, pop stars and animal rights activists over the controversial seal hunt, Canadian officials think they have finally found a more receptive market for seal products – China.

On Wednesday, Fisheries Minister Gail Shea signed a co-operative arrangement with Chinese officials that she said will give Canada’s sealing industry access to the world’s largest consumer market. Perhaps fittingly, the deal was signed while Ms. Shea and a group of Canadian business people were attending the China Fur and Leather Products Fair in Beijing. Needless to say, there were no fur protesters in sight.

The agreement “will allow the export of edible seal products from Canada, such as meat and oil, to China,” Ms. Shea said. “For Canada, sealing is about more than fur. The trade of other seal products, such as oils and meat, represents a growing share of what is already a multimillion-dollar business.”

Canadian officials have spent years wooing the Chinese. Ms. Shea’s discussions began during last year’s Beijing fur show. Many Canadian politicians and industry players believe Chinese consumers are open to wearing sealskin and eating seal meat. They also hope that Chinese purchases will revive Canada’s seal industry, which has been hit hard by a ban on many seal products imposed last year by the European Union.

The ban has helped drive down prices for seal pelts, which sank to $19 on average last year at some major auctions, from $38 in 2009 and $56 in 2008. Pelts went for as much as $67 on average in 2006. The number of seals harvested annually has also fallen steadily, dropping to fewer than 70,000 last year from around 300,000 in 2005. Only about 6,000 people derive some income from seal hunting and total exports are roughly $10-million annually.

Animal rights activists claim the industry is on its last legs and they are vowing to take their anti-seal-hunt campaign to China. “Chinese people care just as much about animals as the citizens of Europe and America,” said Lu Di, director of China Small Animal Protection Association, in a statement Wednesday. “My organization and many others will work to ensure China never becomes a significant market for Canadian seal products.”

Sheryl Fink, director of the seal program at the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Toronto, said Canadian officials are wrong to think they can count on Chinese consumers to buy seal products.

“This general attitude that we can dump the products that the rest of the world doesn’t want on China, because of this sense that they have a lack of understanding of animal welfare or that they won’t care about the cruelty in the seal hunt – I think that’s a little bit insulting,” Ms. Fink said, adding: “It’s along the lines of we dump our asbestos on the rest of the world.

“Europe doesn’t want our seal products, Canadians by and large don’t consume seal products on a large scale, and so now we are kind of turning to China with this attitude that, they’ll take it, they’ll take anything,” she said.

But Ms. Shea’s announcement won praise from an Inuit group that is spearheading a challenge of the EU ban in a European court.

“The size of the Chinese market and rapid growth of the Chinese economy makes this particularly good news for Inuit and our interests in expanding our market opportunities for sealskin products,” said Mary Simon, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a national Inuit organization. “I’m pleased that the Chinese government has seen through the myths and distortions that have been widely disseminated by animal-rights extremists in other parts of the world, such as Europe. We want to create a stable and secure future for our seal hunters.”

Number of seals harvested (approx.) 2006 After E.U. ban
Greenland 120,000 120,000
Canada 280,000 70,000
Norway 18,000 9,000
Total trade 418,000 199,000

Source: European Commission



http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/deal-lets-canada-sell-seal-products-to-china/article1867014/

The seal hunt is vital for culling the population. Seals are a far bigger threat to the Cod then any fishing. Even if we stop selling their meat and pelts we'd still have to kill a few hundred thousand a year. The only way to stop hunting them is to introduce a predator into the area to kill them for us.


Um, I think seal were fine population wise befor we decided their babies make nice ear muffs. I also think that we are the biggest threat to the Cod population not the seals. Seriously, do you really think they need us for population control? I'm not against the hunt in moderation, I'm not a fan of the clubbing method used. It's illegal to kill livestock in that manner.

No, as long as we are the butt of their opposition, it is NOT senseless. It would be senseless to sit back and have absolutely no opinion on matters that affect us, and our traditional culture. What is good for Europe is not necessarily automatically good for Canada.


TB it's only traditional to the native population. True Canada for a large part was built off of the fur trade to Europe. But seeing as Europe no longer wants any part of that traditional tie with us why is it so odd to think it's time to stop thinking of fur as a part of our culture as well? Unless your native fur trading more then likely has little to do with your heritage.

I don't recall the Chinese being big on fur in general but I guess tastes can change.

As for seal meat, is that harvested from adult seals or baby seals? If we just kill the adults, would that satisfy people since they are less "cute"?

I'm banning myself from this thread. :)

Oh god, not this thread again.

are we approving monkey brains in return? i heard those taste, uhm, interesting :lol:

I can guarantee people are going to go and stain the animals fur, and I totally support them. :)

And it begins! So you would rather the Inuit throw the fur in the garbage after eating it? I suppose we do throw the cow skin away and eat the meat so there is a precedent. :nuts:

are we approving monkey brains in return? i heard those taste, uhm, interesting :lol:

I dunno if I could eat monkey brain.

:deadthrea