The EU has blocked the first panel request in the WTO seal products dispute. From Bloomberg:
The European Union blocked Canadian efforts to have the World Trade Organization decide whether an EU ban on trade in seal products breaks global trade rules. The EU won’t be able to prevent a second request, likely in March.
The next regularly scheduled DSB meeting is March 25, but Canada could request a special meeting before that.
In other seal-related news, AFP reports that this year's seal hunt has started:
Canada's controversial annual seal hunt was expected to get underway Thursday off Hay Island, Nova Scotia after bad weather delayed its opening by one week, the fisheries department said.
"Hunters couldn't go out last week because of storms, but they're hoping to go out onto the ice tomorrow," an official told AFP.
The hunting quota for grey seals was upped from 50,000 to 60,000 this year, the official said, adding that the grey seal population has grown to more than 350,000.
Also, there's a new hunting method being tried:
Nova Scotia fishermen will test an alternative method for killing seals as part of the hunt set to start Thursday.
Sealers will use small-calibre ammunition that should cause the immediate death of seals and eliminate the risk of ricochet for sealer safety.
And Asia is being developed as an alternative to the EU market:
Northeast Coast Sealers Cooperative of Newfoundland sees potential markets in Asian countries for the meat of grey seals, like it will be buying from a hunt on Hay Island off Cape Breton.
The sealers co-operative has already done work on developing grey seal meat products and introducing them to potential customers, including those already buying harp seal products, says executive director Shannon Lewis.
