EU court upholds seal fur ban

The EU's three-year-old ban on seal fur will remain intact after the bloc's highest court threw out a legal challenge by the Canadian Inuit and the country's fur trade.

Unveiling its judgment on 25 April 2013, the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice (ECJ) said the ban had been established to "harmonise the rules and thus prevent the disturbance of the internal market in seal products".

The case had been brought by Inuit community group, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), and the Fur Institute of Canada, with both organisations claiming that their livelihood depends on the trade.

ESO: Background information: Regulation (EC) No 1007/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on trade in seal products http://www.europeansources.info/record/regulation-ec-no-1007-2009-of-the-european-parliament-and-of-the-council-of-16-september-2009-on-trade-in-seal-products/

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK): Press Release: EU General Court Rules against Sustainable Use of Seals https://www.itk.ca/eu-general-court-rules-against-sustainable-use-seals

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