The EU Seal Products Ban – Why Ineffective Animal Welfare Protection Cannot Justify Trade Restrictions under European and International Trade Law

Authors

  • Martin Hennig Faculty of Law, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17585/arctic.v6.77

Abstract

In this article, the author questions the legitimacy of the general ban on trade in seal products adopted by the European Union. It is submitted that the EU Seal Regime, which permits the marketing of Greenlandic seal products derived from Inuit hunts, but excludes Canadian and Norwegian seal products from the European market, does not ensure a satisfactory degree of animal welfare protection in order to justify the comprehensive trade restriction in place. It is argued that the current ineffective EU ban on seal products, which according to the WTO Appellate Body cannot be reconciled with the objective of protecting animal welfare, has no legal basis in EU Treaties and should be annulled.

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Author Biography

Martin Hennig, Faculty of Law, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

Postdoc, Ph.D, Faculty of Law, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

Published

2015-03-30

How to Cite

Hennig, M. (2015). The EU Seal Products Ban – Why Ineffective Animal Welfare Protection Cannot Justify Trade Restrictions under European and International Trade Law. Arctic Review on Law and Politics, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.17585/arctic.v6.77

Issue

Section

Original Articles

Keywords:

Trade in seal products, animal welfare, rights of indigenous peoples, EU law, WTO law, Arctic