Seals, Stigma and Survival

Check out the new Seals, Stigma and Survival discussion paper – “Acknowledging and Addressing the Absence of Greenlandic Public Input into the EU’s 2024 Public Consultations on the Fitness of its Trade in Seal Products Regulations” – available now on the SDU Arctic website. Authored by PI Danita Burke and SI Erik Kielsen and supported by the core project team of Kristina Svels, Helena Gonzales Lindberg and Jim Winter, the new discussion piece is an introductory piece that aims to spark a discussion about the European Union’s (EU) approach to consultations on the fitness of its trade in seal products regulations. Our preliminary review of statistics released by the EU on its 2024 public consultation process suggest that there are no contributions to the EU’s review on its seal product regulations from members of the Greenlandic public.

Key Highlights:

• Greenland is one of only three recognized bodies with permission to export seal products to the EU;
• A review of key statistics on consultation participants highlights that Greenlandic public involvement in the consultations is non-existent and is dominated by five countries in the public consultations, none of which are Arctic countries – France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Germany; and
• Insight from Greenlandic/Kalaallit hunters note the lack of local awareness of the EU’s fitness check and the opportunity for local participation in the consultation processes and a desire to be part of the consultation processes; and
• A call for the EU to pause the finalization of its report on the 2024 fitness check of the regulations on the trade of seal products to pursue targeted engagement with members of the Greenlandic public.

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Clarifying statement (added December 1, 2025): In alignment with statements on social media, this report focuses on the EU’s approach to raising awareness of its 2024 fitness check amongst the Greenlandic public so that members of the public could participate in the public consultation processes. The motivation for this report was opinions expressed by Greenlandic hunters during interviews for this project (referenced in the report) in which they expressed a lack of awareness of the process and a desire to have had the opportunity to participate. Early evidence suggest the EU received no direct participation from members of the Greenlandic public.