(Guelph, Ontario - 27 July 2009) - The Council of the European Union today adopted the regulation to ban the trade of all seal products within the EU. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW – www.ifaw.org) applauds the last step of approval before implementation of this momentous legislation. The ban is a significant victory in IFAW’s 40 year campaign to end Canada’s commercial seal hunt.

(Ottawa, Canada – 29 March 2009) – Senator Mac Harb has returned from witnessing this year’s commercial seal hunt along with observers from IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare –www.ifaw.org) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

(Charlottetown, PEI, Canada – 25 March 2008) – Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) will close the first zone of the seal hunt today after the earliest group of sealers killed 17,200 harp seals thus far. DFO is set to re-open the hunt in another area of the Gulf this Friday.

(Charlottetown, Canada – 23 March 2009) – A team of observers with IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare – www.ifaw.org) is ready to document the commercial seal hunt as it opens in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada.

(Ottawa, Canada – 20 March 2009) – The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has denounced today’s announcement by the Government of Canada that it will allow the slaughter of 280,000 harp seal pups this year. 

(Moscow, Russia - 18 March 2009) - Today, Yuriy Trutnev, Russia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology announced a complete ban on the hunting of all harp seals less than one year of age in the White Sea. This historic end to Russia’s harp seal hunt was applauded by IFAW (The International Fund for Animal Welfare – www.ifaw.org), which has been working in Russia, in Canada, and throughout the world to put an end to commercial seal hunts.

(Ottawa, Canada – 3 March 2009) – The International Fund for Animal Welfare applauds a private member’s bill introduced today by Senator Mac Harb calling for an end to Canada’s commercial seal hunt. This marks the first time a Canadian politician has introduced legislation to put an end to the largest remaining marine mammal slaughter in the world.

(Brussels, Belgium – March 2, 2009) – The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW – www.ifaw.org) has welcomed a key European Parliament vote in favor of a ban on the import of seal products to the EU.

(Moscow, Russia – February 27, 2009) – Russian ministers announced a complete ban on the hunt for “whitecoat harp” seals (pups up to about 11 days old) as the first step in an agreement to end the killing of all baby seals.

(Ottawa, Canada – December 10, 2008) – The projected 1.27 billion dollar surplus announced today by Jerome Kennedy, Finance Minister for Newfoundland and Labrador, is being applauded by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

(Ottawa, Canada - 24 July 2008) – An analysis of yesterday’s proposal put forth by the European Commission shows that Canada’s commercial seal hunt does not meet the requirements necessary for a humane seal hunt.

(Ottawa, Canada - 23 July 2008) – Today’s highly anticipated announcement by the European Union for a proposal to ban the trade in seal products has been cautiously welcomed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

(Ottawa - 17 July 2008) – A new nation-wide poll released today, conducted by Environics Research on behalf of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), shows that not only do Canadians want the commercial seal hunt stopped, but they also want the government to stop spending tax dollars defending it overseas.

(Brussels - 25 April 2008) - European parliamentarians have joined forces with animal welfare organizations from all over Europe to press the European Commission for an immediate ban on seal products after fresh evidence emerged of cruel and wasteful practices in the ongoing seal hunt in Canada.

(Ottawa, Canada – 4 April 2008) – As Canadian government officials continue a European tour in attempt to forestall an EU ban on seal products, IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare – www.ifaw.org) released new video evidence refuting the government’s claims that the humaneness of Canada’s commercial seal hunt has improved.

(Charlottetown, PEI, Canada – 27 March 2008) – Today, experts with IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare – www.ifaw.org) denounced the Canadian government’s claims that a new condition of license will improve the humaneness of Canada’s commercial seal hunt. The so-called ‘new’ regulations make no real changes to the way seals can be killed. They simply call for bleeding to be conducted at some point, “where possible” or even after the seal is finally brought onto the deck of a sealing vessel.

(Ottawa, Canada – 7 March 2008) - Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has once again decided to ignore scientific advice, and the wishes of the majority of Canadians, by increasing the total allowable catch (TAC) for harp seals.