Latest Economy of New Zealand Stories

According to Canadian officials, the country's annual seal hunt "” the largest in the world "” has drawn to a close with hunters fulfilling only about a quarter of the maximum quota allowed by the government.Although the government-monitored event permits the commercial killing of more than a quarter of a million seals per year, officials have reported that fishermen in the easternmost province of Newfoundland and Labrador only brought in approximately 70,000 animals at the close of this...

Newfoundland and Labrador's refusal to support Ottawa's trade talks with the European Union nearly derailed negotiations, a diplomatic official said Monday. I have to be perfectly frank with you: The statement by (Premier) Danny Williams when he refused to sign up to the Council of the Federation statement nearly derailed the entire process, Anya Oram, charge d'affaires for the European Commission delegation in Ottawa, told the St. John's (Newfoundland) Telegram Monday. The Council of the...

New legislation from the European Parliament will ban the sale of seal products in the 27-nation EU, BBC News reported.Animal welfare groups, which have long argued that the clubbing of seal pups by hunters is barbaric, had been lobbying for the change for years.Some 300,000 seals are killed off Canada's east coast annually in the biggest seal hunt in the world. Anti-hunt campaigners are outraged that some seals are skinned while still conscious. And most hunters typically shoot the seals...

Humane Society International Documents Suffering, Apparent Violations of Marine Mammal Regulations at 2009 Seal Kill OTTAWA, April 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, Humane Society International/Canada released new footage from Canada's 2009 commercial seal kill at a press conference with Senator Mac Harb, the first Canadian parliamentarian to introduce a bill to end the seal hunt. Observers documented numerous cases of extreme cruelty, including apparent violations of Canada's...

The second part of Canada's yearly seal hunt started Wednesday with the killing of 63,500 seals mandated by authorities, even though there remains a lack of interest for their pelts.The profitable hunt began on Newfoundland province and Quebec's lower north shore, stated fisheries department spokesman Phil Jenkins. However, powerful winds and chilly rain slowed down the hunters, Jenkins noted.In the first part of the hunt, 19,411 seals were butchered in the south part of the Gulf of Saint...

Fisheries officials said on Thursday that hunters taking part in Canada's controversial yearly seal hunt have already filled their full kill-quota after slaughtering some 19,411 seals so far this year, the AFP reported.Phil Jenkins, a spokesman for Canada's fisheries and oceans department, described the first leg of the annual commercial cull, which ended Wednesday, as "calm and orderly." The annual seal kill boasted some 350 Canadian sealers in 20 vessels, as well as those on the shores...

CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island, March 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) closed the first zone of the seal hunt today after the earliest group of sealers killed 17,200 harp seals thus far. DFO is set to re-open the hunt in another area of the Gulf this Friday. Observers with IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare - www.ifaw.org) have just returned after witnessing the slaughter of harp seal pups during this year's commercial seal hunt....

CHARLOTTETOWN, Canada, March 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A team of observers with IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare - www.ifaw.org) is ready to document the commercial seal hunt as it opens in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. Canada's commercial seal hunt is the largest hunt for marine mammals in the world. Sealers are allowed to kill 280,000 harp seal pups this year, provided they have begun to molt their white coats, which occurs when the animals are about two weeks old....

The Canadian government came under harsh criticism from environmental groups on Saturday for increasing its annual seal-hunting quota. The groups say Canada's move makes little sense given the expected European ban on all seal products.On Friday, the Canadian government authorized an increase in seal killing on the Atlantic seaboard to 280,000, one-third the total number of seals killed annually worldwide.  The new quota is 5,000 higher than last year's quota, and 10,000 above the quota...

OTTAWA, March 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has released this year's total allowable catch (TAC) for harp seals despite a lack of demand worldwide for seal fur. Experts with IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare - www.ifaw.org) are appalled that the Canadian government is persisting with the commercial seal hunt in spite of dwindling international markets. "This quota is outrageous," said Sheryl Fink, a senior researcher with IFAW....