Contacts: Katie McConnell (IFAW, Headquarters)
U.S. Tel: 1 (508) 744-2237
E-mail: kmcconnell@ifaw.org

Igor Beliatski (IFAW Russia)
Russia Tel: +7 (495) 933-3411
E-mail: ibeliatski@ifaw.org

Extraordinary victory for harp seals: Russia moves towards banning the whitecoat hunt

(Moscow, Russia – 6 March 2008) – Today, Oleg Trutnev, Russia’s Minister of Natural Resources drafted a letter requesting the government to bring a full stop to Russia’s hunt for newborn whitecoat harp seals less than three weeks old. This first step in halting Russia’s harp seal hunt was applauded by IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare), which has been working in Canada and throughout the world to put an end to commercial seal hunts.

“We are very pleased that the Russian government is taking steps towards ending the whitecoat hunt,” remarked Masha Vorontsova, Director of IFAW Russia. “We acknowledge this step as an important achievement for animal welfare; however the government must do more -- we look forward to the full closure of the harp seal hunt in Russia.”

Russian opposition to the whitecoat harp seal hunt has grown considerably in the last year. Public outcry led to mounting pressure on the government of Russia to formally address the need to close the whitecoat hunt.

Similarly, European opposition to Canada’s commercial seal hunt resulted in national bans on all seal products in both Belgium and The Netherlands. Comparable bans are under consideration in Germany, Italy and Austria and IFAW is continuing to urge these nations and others to help shrink the global market for seal products.

“We are continuing to appeal to Russia, Canada and Norway to end their cruel hunts for harp seals once and for all,” added Vorontsova. “These hunts are unnecessary – they are merely supporting the trade in fur used for non-essential fashion items.”

Later this month, Canada’s commercial seal hunt will begin off the east coast of Canada. Last year, more than 224,000 harp seals were killed, 98.5% of which were under 3 months of age.