From the Canadian Press:
Blame the seal hunt if you find out you're wearing Fluffy or Rover.
The federal government won't ban imports of cat and dog fur because doing so might undermine Canada's support for the seal hunt, a newly released document shows.
An internal memo shows government officials urged Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz not to follow the United States and Europe in barring cat and dog fur from entering the country.
Officials worried a ban would weaken Canada's argument against other countries closing their borders to its seal products.
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"An import ban on cat and dog fur, if it were to be considered, could ... undermine Canada's position against the implementation of foreign import bans on Canadian seal products," the document says.
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"Canada's imposition of a trade ban based on perceived animal welfare abuses by other countries could be considered a technical barrier to trade," the memo to Ritz says.
"Such measures could be inconsistent with WTO obligations if, among other things, they are not linked to legitimate objectives such as animal health."
