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The “International Agreement on Humane Trapping Standards”
The European Union passed a
resolution through the European Parliament to ban the use of Leg-Hold traps in
all its member countries, and to ban furs coming from any country still using
the Leg-Hold trap. They didn’t
want to a part of such cruelty.
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Canada, eager to continue
Leg-Hold trapping, led the charge to undermine this import ban, by threatening
the European Union with sever economic punishment and with battles under the
terms of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Finally, Canada convinced the
European Union to exempt Canada from their fur ban.
They proposed an International Agreement, and misled them into believing
that this agreement would mean better welfare for trapped animals all around,
and would lead to the eventual banning of the leg-hold trap.
It puts an international
“Seal of Approval” on the same old cruel trapping methods.
The “new” standards are so obscenely low as to be virtually useless
from an animal welfare perspective.
Steel Jawed Leg-Hold
Traps will still be used, Conibear
Traps will still be used, and Snares
will still be used.
These have been the main
three traps used in Canada for over 40 years.
Canada’s declaration in
this international agreement seems on the surface to be saying that Leg-Hold
traps will be banned by now (by April 30, 2001).
And that is what many people, including many of the Europeans, mistakenly
understood from it. But…
Leg-Hold traps will
continue to be used in Canada:
· Leg-Hold traps in or near the water will still be used. (60% of Canada’s trapped animals are semi-aquatic animals trapped in or near the water).
· So-called “Padded” Leg-Hold traps will still be used. (Steel jawed Leg-Hold traps with a bit of synthetic material added on to the steel jaws.)
·
“Offset” Traps will still be used.
(Leg-Hold traps with a 3/16” gap between the powerful steel jaws.)
The United States also signed
an agreement with the European Union, to exclude the US from the fur import ban,
and to legitimize the use of cruel traps.
This agreement has most of
the same loopholes and problems as the one that Canada signed, with one
additional BIG loophole!:
The agreement isn’t even binding over each individual state. Authority over trapping in the USA lies solely with the state governments, so it is up to each state whether it is going to comply with the terms of the agreement.
More on the International Trapping Agreement...
can be found on the "Hot Topics" page at: Hot Topics (then select "International Trapping Agreement" from the side bar at the left).
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