Groenlandia frena compra piel foca A Canadápor crítica ecologistas El Gobierno groenlandés, autonomía perteneciente a Dinamarca, decidió hoy que la compañía estatal Great Greenland deje de comprar pieles de foca a Canadá tras las críticas de organizaciones ecologistas por la forma de caza en ese país.
Fri Jan 6, 11:12 AM ET
COPENHAGEN (AFP) - Denmark's ruling Conservative Party called on Greenland's government to immediately put an end to sealskin and fur imports from Canada because of the "barbaric" killing methods used. Conservative Party spokesman Per Oerum Joergensen issued the call after the Danish Animal Welfare Society accused furrier Great Greenland, which imports seal pelts from Canada, of being partially responsable for the animals being bludgeoned to death and skinned alive. Greenland is an autonomous Danish territory. "It is unacceptable that Greenland's politicians let Great Greenland, which is owned by the local government and financed by taxpayers, ruin the good reputation of Greenland's sealskins that has been restored after (French screen star and animal rights activist Brigitte) Bardot's destructive campaigns in the 1980s against the baby seal hunt," he told AFP. "The best way to put an end to this barbaric slaughter, which concerns four out of 10 seals killed according to studies, is to not buy sealskins from Canada," Joergensen said. Great Greenland has meanwhile rejected the allegations. "Our suppliers guarantee that the seals are not clubbed to death, and we can see the bullet holes in the skins," managing director Michael Nielsen told Greenland radio. The Conservative party has governed Denmark together with the Liberals since 2001. Joergensen said he would travel to Greenland in February to discuss the issue with the island's authorities. Great Greenland has imported sealskins from Canada since 2003. In the first nine months of 2005, its imports totalled 22 million kroner (2.9 million euros, 3.6 million dollars), or about 40,000 pelts, Greenland's statistics office said. The company purchases between 80,000 and 100,000 sealskins a year, of which about 60,000 are from Greenland. Meanwhile, the head of the Danish Animal Welfare Society, Ole Muenster, said he had written a letter to Danish Justice Minister Lene Espersen asking her to propose a bill making it illegal to sell pelts in Denmark and Greenland from animals that have been skinned alive. "Greenland's seal fur industry ends up paying the price for the thousands of seals skinned alive, since public opinion is so sensitive to these horrible massacres and does not distinguish between Greenland and Canadian sealskins," Muenster said.
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