The first slideshow below shows images of the comments by Danish-based contributors submitted in 2024 to the public consultations process for the fitness check of the EU seal product ban.
According to the European Commission:
Seals are hunted in parts of the world for commercial, subsistence and cultural reasons. In 1983, following people’s concerns about animal welfare, the EU banned the import of certain seal pup skins. In 2009, a general ban on placing seal products on the EU market was introduced, with two exceptions. This initiative will assess if the rules in place remain fit for purpose, focusing on their socio-economic impact and their impact on seal populations.
The consultation process ran from 15 May 2024 – 07 August 2024.
The statistics page for the consultation states that there were 11 contributions from Denmark. However, when the search term “Denmark” is used in the “filter for reviews” search portal for the feedback, as of the research and publication of this piece, only of the results shown are contributions by Danish-based contributors to the 2024 EU trade on seal products fitness check public consultation process. When the term “Danmark” is used, only one result shows; a result that is also one of the three results from the “Denmark” search. These results are below (English and Danish [when original language of submission]) in the slideshow, with two attachments provided with two of the three submissions.
Interestingly, there are a number of comments in the consultation feedback to the Faroe Islands, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark (made up of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands). However no contributions appear using the website filter from contributors stating the Faroe Islands as their country of origin.
Of contributors mentioning the Faroe Islands, there is a vocal number that appear intent on using the seal ban fitness check consultations as an opportunity to push for a broader call from wider bans on traditional hunting practices. Of the 33 results mentioning the Faroe Islands, all were against hunting and amending the EU ban on seal products. They also tie their opposition to sealing to a broader call for an end to the traditional Faroese grindadráp. Feedback contributors mentioning the Faroe Islands predominately come from France (27 of 33), with some feedback from Italy (1 of 33), Belgium (4 of 33) and the United Kingdom (1 of 33). Below is a slideshow of these comments, including original language submissions (where appliable) and English-language versions.
Additionally, there is no separate overview piece compiled for this project/website for Greenlandic feedback as the search filter indicates that there was no feedback provided by any contributors of Greenlandic origin.
Please note: No article highlighting views from Norway are compiled from the reviews of feedback provided to the “Trade in Seal Products – Fitness check of EU rules” because there are no search results (in English or Norwegian) appearing for Norway-based (country of origin) contributors; search filter terms used (1) Norway and (2) Norge. However, Norway is mentioned repeatedly in comments by contributors from other countries, often in conjunction with references to Canada and their World Trade Organization case against the EU over its 2009 seal ban.
Similarly, no feedback contributions from people stating their country of origin as Iceland appeared when using the term “Iceland” using the feedback filter. Therefore, no Icelandic focused piece is provided from this series of feedback reviews and compilations.
Author: Danita Catherine Burke
Methodology: Screen shots of public consultation comments and downloadable attachments were obtained from the “Trade in seal products – fitness check of EU rules” public consultation feedback. The consultation feedback is open access. You can find out more about the consultation process here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14031-Trade-in-seal-products-fitness-check-of-EU-rules/public-consultation_en.
Search terms used: Denmark; Danmark.
An additional search was performed for the term “Greenland” but there were no results to indicate direct input provided by contributors with Greenland as the country of origin.
A search was completed using the term: Faroe Islands. As with all the searches done using the consultation feedback filter on the European Commission website, there is likelihood for missed results for all searches conducted as a result of issues such as spelling errors and automatic translation errors in the consultation feedback results.
As the contributions to the consultation process are reviewed further during this project, any additional feedback from “country of origin: Denmark” contributors will be added to this piece with a note about any new amendment.
Seals, Stigma and Survival 
Response to “Comments provided to the “Trade in seal products – fitness check of EU rules” 2024 public consultations (Denmark)”
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