Taiwan Retailers Ban Seal Oil

The Environmental and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) is hoping to convince the Taiwanese government to ban Canadian seal oil imports through a major campaign. EAST reports having gathered more than 160,000 signatures petitioning for the ban, and as a result, large retailers in Taiwan have stopped carrying seal oil products, including branches of pharmacy retailers Watsons and Cosmed. In Taiwan, seal oil is sold as a dietary supplement, and according to EAST, Taiwan is the fourth largest market for Canadian seal products. As Executive Director of Humane Society International’s Canada chapter Rebecca Aldworth noted in a press release, the US, European Union (EU), Mexico, and Croatia have all banned seal oil.