- British retailers insist they do not stock their products,
fur traders claim they are a mere sideline and a Welsh fashion designer
caused a national outcry a few years ago by using them on the catwalk.
But the seals whose slaughter has turned the Canadian ice blood-red this
week are earning British traders healthy revenues, according to figures
seen by The Independent.
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- EU import/export data for 2003 shows that nearly 6,000
seal pelts were imported to Britain, many of them from Canada. Another
UK import was seal oil, a new by-product which is being marketed as a superior
alternative to fish oil health supplements. British consumers may be put
off by this week's pictures of sealers clubbing animals over the head but
the nation's fur brokers and manufacturers are evidently not.
-
- The figures suggest that hundreds of the pelts are being
handled by British brokers, who import them from Canada via Norwegian tanneries
and mark them up for export to Russia. The country has a Baltic Sea cull
of its own and does not share western Europe's distaste for the cull. Saudi
Arabia and South Korea are the next biggest markets for the British seal
fur brokers.
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- The figures also show Britain is exporting thousands
fewer pelts than it is importing - an indication that many are being passed
on to British clothing manufacturers and tailored into garments for export.
The mark-up potential is considerable. A three-quarter length coat lined
with seal fur will sell for up to Ä2,500 (£1,660) in Russia
and other eastern European countries, and as much as Ä4,500 (£3,000)
in Denmark. The fur has also become far more popular in Greece, Italy and
Asia.
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- "Year after year we see this kind of trade surplus
in Britain," said a spokeswoman for the International Fund for Animal
Welfare (IFAW). "It [seems] a number of [British] firms are doing
the manufacturing and sending finished products off." The British
Fur Trade Association this week admitted some of its members do trade in
fur but would not disclose which. Neither would it reveal what revenues
the seal fur business bring in. But its spokeswoman, Andrea Martin, did
indicate the value of seal pelts has risen to around 60 Canadian dollars
(£25) apiece.
-
- Eastern Europe is not the only place providing a burgeoning
market for British seal exporters. After years of being taboo, seal fur
has made something of a comeback in the past few years. A Louis Vuitton
collection in Paris showed coats, tunics and pinafore dresses made from
sealskin. Donatella Versace also featured sealskin in her first collection.
-
- Seal fur can also be used in less obtrusive ways. The
fur's flatter hair is used as a decorative feature on the top of shoes
and a penchant for fur trim in the teenage fashion market may have seen
it used on vests and jackets in the past 12 months, although the source
of the fur may not be obvious once dyed.
-
- But it is seal oil which is of particular concern to
animal welfare activists. The Vegan Society claims the oil's origin may
be disguised in the UK by use of the term "marine oil" on packaging.
"We know these terms are widely used, and cover things like seal,
whale and dolphin oils," said spokeswoman Catriona Toms.
-
- The trade figures show oil worth Ä31,000 (£20,600)
was imported to Britain last year and oil-related goods worth Ä161,000
(£107,000) were exported. The product is naturally high in Omega-3
oil, which can be used in skin creams and lip balms. Sealers have been
helped by the Candian government subsidies to find major markets for it.
-
- Seal furs have other, more unusual uses in the UK. Traditional
Scottish sporrans are made from fur and highland outfitters like Nicoll
Brothers, Kinloch Anderson and The Scottish Store still sell the genuine
article for around £180. The fur is also used as bait for the fishing
industry, by virtue of its remarkably good buoyancy. A leading store, Barlows,
of Macclesfield, Cheshire, confirmed seal fur is still used and sold in
the UK. Other uses promoted by sealers include salami, pepperoni and seal
sausage, marketed as high in iron and low in fat.
-
- In Canada, sealers say their brief seal harvest - which
protects the youngest "whitecoat" seal pups of up to 12 days'
old - brings a much-needed boost to family incomes. But the British Government
shares IFAW's concerns about the cull, which will have claimed the lives
of 350,000 seals by May's close of hunting season. Foreign Office minister
Mike O'Brien is known to be pressing for a relaxation of World Trade Organisation
rules which forbid EU countries restricting imports on the basis of animal
welfare concerns.
-
- "Britain does not accept the need for a seal cull
and the Canadians are well aware of that," a Foreign Office spokeswoman
said yesterday.
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- VUITTON AND VERSACE PUT SKIN IN NEW COLLECTIONS
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- By Ian Herbert
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- A Louis Vuitton collection has used sealskin in coats,
tunics and pinafore dresses. Donatella Versace made it a part of her first
show. It is also used decoratively on shoes and as a trim on coats, vests
and jackets.
-
- Traditional Scottish sporrans, right, are also made from
seal fur and retail at as much as £180.
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- Seal oil is naturally high in omega-3 fatty acids, which
is said to combat arthritis. The Canadian Sealers' Association has also
worked on a lotion for eczema and psoriasis. It be also used in skin creams
and lip balms and sealers energy and food products Seal penises are shipped
to Asia as aphrodisiacs and can sell for up to £200 each. The sealers
have also developed seal protein drink for sportspeople.
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- Meats include salami, pepperoni and seal sausage. The
buoyancy of seal fur also makes it a popular bait for the fishing industry.
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- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=512254
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