| Parliamentary and Other Activity |
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| MP joins IFAW for launch of landmark report on seal hunt |
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| Ann Widdecombe, MP for Maidstone and The Weald, joined the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), for the parliamentary launch of its landmark report, ‘Importing Cruelty’, which documents the cruelty of Canada’s commercial seal hunt and the need for a UK trade ban on seal products. |
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| Ms Widdecombe is pictured with an ice sculpture commissioned by IFAW to symbolise the cruelty of the hunt. |
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| IFAW’s report examines all aspects of the hunt, including the UK trade in seal products, and clearly makes a case for ending the commercial hunt. |
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| As part of IFAW’s campaign, the organisation is urging the UK Government to ban the trade in all harp and hooded seal products. |
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| IFAW marine campaigner Ellie Dickson said: “This is the largest marine mammal hunt in the world. If we stop the UK trade in seal products, we can play our part in helping to stop the hunt.” |
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| Members of the public are being asked to contact the Minister for Trade, Ian Pearson, and urge him to introduce a ban on the import of seal products into the UK. |
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| Ms Widdecombe said: "I welcome IFAW’s report which raises awareness of this important issue. As parliamentarians we have the power to act and help end this cruel hunt.” |
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| Between 2003 and 2005, more than one million seals were killed, with the vast majority harp seal pups aged between two weeks and three months of age. |
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| On the same day that IFAW launched its report, the Canadian government announced the quota for this year’s seal hunt – 325,000 seals. |
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| All veterinary reports on previous hunts have documented high levels of cruelty, with thousands of seal pups still alive when they were skinned. |
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