Michael Markarian: Europe Votes to Save Seals

An historic vote this morning in the European Parliament will have ripple effects for animals on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. All 27 member nations of the European Union will soon ban the import and sale of seal fur, drying up the market for Canada's annual hunt of baby seals--the largest commercial slaughter of marine mammals in the world. Just weeks ago, the world's most beautiful nursery on the ice floes of Canada's Atlantic coast was stained red and turned into a killing field. Tens of thousands of seal pups--some just 12 days old--were clubbed and skinned for their fur pelts, before they could even take their first swim. The Humane Society of the United States and its global affiliate, Humane Society International, have been working worldwide to end this massive global form of cruelty, and have been leading the fight from Ottawa to Brussels to Strasbourg. © Nigel Barker Russia banned its own seal hunt this year, with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin calling it "such a bloody ... (link)