Support for a Fitness Check of Regulation (EC) No. 1007/2009 on Trade in Seal Products

The EU Seal Protection Regime is a legal framework developed in response to growing public ethical concerns about seal hunting. It includes legislation such as the Seal Pups Directive (Directive 83/129/EEC) from 1983, the Basic Regulation (EC) No. 1007/2009 of the European Parliament and Council from 2009 on trade in seal products, and several implementing regulations. The core of these regulations is the general ban on placing seal products on the EU market. Despite this general ban, the EU Seal Regulation allows exceptions for i) products from hunts conducted by Inuit and other Indigenous communities, recognising their cultural and subsistence needs; and ii) the import of seal products for the personal use of travellers and their families, provided certain conditions are met. The project supported the European Commission in conducting a fitness check of the EU Seal Protection Regime. This involved formally evaluating the functionality of the aforementioned legislation for the first time.