Izvestia: “Hollywood star asks Putin to ban Canadian seal fur imports”
A Hollywood film star and animal rights activist has urged Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to ban the import of Canadian seal fur and leather into Russia, in the wake of similar bans imposed by the United States and the European Union nations.
In her letter to the Russian premier, Pamela Anderson said she had come to regard Putin as a person committed to protecting rare animal species following his ban on the slaughter of seal cubs in Russia.
The Canadian-born actress, who actively promotes PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), said hunted seals in Canada were usually less than three months old.
Press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Izvestia that Putin had not yet been able to read Anderson's letter, but that wildlife protection was, indeed, among his priorities.
The Russian premier banned hunting for baby seals last year, in response to a wide-scale public campaign to protect them from extermination.
Currently, Russia is the biggest consumer of products made with Canadian seal fur. Russian environmentalist Alexei Yablokov, an advisor at the national Academy of Sciences, hailed Anderson's urge as "absolutely appropriate."
"We must by no means encourage that business, which still thrives in Canada, with its primitive, medieval use of natural resources," Yablokov said. "We should move away from trapping and on to the sustainable development of the world's ocean resources. If you want to take something out, you must first put something in, so as to sustain the eco-system, just like with agriculture. We must not hurt whales, or dolphins, or seals; we should treat them all as treasured sea life, not as game for hunt."
Alexandra Beluza, Alexander Latyshev
