EU considering steps on seal hunt

Canada has raised the limit of this year's catch to 275,000 seals

The European Union is considering taking measures against Canada over its annual seal hunt.

Spokeswoman Barbara Helfferich said the EU's Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas "is looking into the matter of the inhumane killing of seals".

The hunt starts later this week, off Canada's Atlantic coast.

One option for the EU would be a ban on seal imports, although there was no sign that this was under immediate consideration.

Belgium and the Netherlands have already taken this step, and the United States has banned Canadian seal products since 1972.

New rules

The EU barred the import of white pelts taken from baby seals in 1983, but a wider ban would have serious consequences for hunters and their communities, which rely heavily on the seal hunt.

This year there are new rules in place - such as making sure the animals are dead before they are skinned, as recommended by the EU in December - which are designed to appease concerns in Europe.

The authorities have set a limit for the catch of 275,000 seals, a rise from 270,000 last year.

Animal rights campaigners are putting increasing pressure on the EU to take tougher measures against the hunt, which they describe as cruel.

A British member of the European Parliament, Neil Parish, said: "As the culling season gets underway, the time has come for the commission to take action."

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas is preparing the text, which is to be presented "in the next few months", according to his spokeswoman.