Russia Bans Canadian Seal Imports!

Great news! But I'm not exactly sure why RUSSIA would ban them. (The other two neighbors that banned them are Kazakhstan and Belarus). Apparently, some claim about 90 percent of Canadian sales are to Russia. Russia does have its own seal hunt, but apparently they banned killings of animals under one year old. Weird. I don't see what they get out of it, unless they want to impress Europe, which has already banned seal products.

Excerpted from the Globe and Mail....

Russia and two of its neighbours have informed the World Trade Organization that they are banning the import and export of harp seal pelts – a move that animal-rights activists are celebrating as the death knell of Canada’s commercial seal industry.

Russia has been the biggest market for the Canadian seal fur industry. And harp seals are the prime source of that fur.

World Animal Day in Minsk

I doubt caring for strays in Belarus is an easy task, so kudos to these people for the work they do.

City Fauna and another animal welfare charity named Ehida brought around 40 pets from their shelters to the park on Sunday in an attempt to re-home them. They also put up a tent to collect donations, such as pet food, cages, collars and other pet supplies, for stray and abandoned animals kept at the shelters. Free consultations by veterinary physicians also were available.

"Even if one or two animals find owners, we will view this as a positive result," Ms. Byalyanava said. "What is important is to make people talk about this problem."