Animal rights activists distributed an open letter to Canada's fisheries minister in a quiet protest against seal products at an international fur fair in Beijing Thursday.
Calling Canada's seal hunt "morally repulsive" in the letter, volunteers walked from one booth to another and handed out the missive to representatives of nearly 300 fur companies participating in the annual fair.
"It appalls me to see all the pelts hanging everywhere," said "animal-loving citizen" Zhang Dan. "We want more people to see the truth [about the seal hunt] and say no to Canadian seal products."
Beijing's animal rights groups had planned to stage a peaceful demonstration, volunteer Ye Genggeng told the Global Times. But they were stopped by police before the fair opened.
Canadian fisheries minister Gail Shea announced Wednesday in Beijing that Canada has reached an agreement with the Chinese government on the trade of seal products, the first of its kind in China.
"The Chinese market holds great potential for the Canadian seal industry," said Shea. "Thousands of Canadian families in coastal and northern communities will directly benefit from this new market access arrangement with China."
The volunteers called on Shea to stop what they believe to be a "practice of inhumanity."
"Canada's image has been tarnished because of Canadian brutality against baby seals," the letter says.
China became Canada's largest seal products market after the EU banned the import of Canadian seal products last summer.
