CIC – International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation
56
th
General Assembly
April 29
th
– May 2
nd
2009, Paris, France
“Hunting: a Passion for the Future”
Sustainable management of seal populations
RECOMMENDATION
CICGA56.REC02
NOTING that the total seal population in the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, including the Baltic
Sea, is estimated at nearly 10 million animals, and the number has increased substantially over the last
decades, whereby harp seal is the most numerous species with close to 8 million animals;
FURTHER NOTING that seals consume annually some 9 million tons of fish, and by comparison the
consumption of wild-caught and farmed fish by EU citizens amounts to 10 million tons, and have a
great ecological impact on fish populations;
REGRETTING that the EU bodies will decide on a ban on import and trade of seal products and that
such an action will substantially and negatively impact the management of these animal populations;
RECOGNIZING that independent scientific monitoring has concluded that seal hunting methods can
satisfy the stringent animal welfare requirements, and this is recognized also by the European Food
Safety Agency;
FEARING that if wild species are not managed on the basis of scientific knowledge, but on emotional
or political arguments, this could negatively impact biodiversity as well as human welfare:
the 56
th
CIC General Assembly in Paris from 29 April to 2 May
EMPHASIZES that seals should be managed according to the same principles that apply to the
management of other species, being laid down in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and
more specifically in the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines.
The ban, which the EU has now contemplated, is in violation of these principles and guidelines, and if
implemented, will bring the EU into contradiction with the CBD.
EXPRESSES its deepest concern, because such a decision by EU bodies affecting the sustainable use,
hunting, culling and management of game populations as well as the livelihood of rural communities,
is made with no basis in biological, ecological or animal welfare facts.
CALLS upon all individuals, organizations and governments committed to conservation, wise and
sustainable use of biodiversity, as well as human welfare, to support the management of seals as a
natural resource and consider the wider implications for sustainable use if the trade in seal products is
banned.