As Switzerland Endorses Seal-Fur Ban, Pamela Anderson and PETA Celebrate

Pamela Anderson—Canadian-born Baywatch star and honorary director of PETA—has just sent to Hannes Germann, president of the Swiss Council of States, to thank the council for approving a motion that will ban the importation of seal-fur products from Canada. This move, which comes after two years of debate in Parliament, follows the World Trade Organization’s recent decision to uphold the EU’s ban on seal-fur imports.

Anderson’s letter, which is below and also available here, has already garnered a response from Germann, who says: “The letter was unexpected and took me completely by surprise. But I am particularly pleased that Swiss policy is pursued worldwide.”

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

September 25, 2014

Hannes Germann
President of the Council of States Services of Parliament
Parliament
CH 3003 Bern

Dear Mr. Germann,

As a proud Canadian, I was delighted to learn that the Swiss Council of States has approved a bill to ban seal-fur imports from my native country. I became active in marine-mammal issues well before my Baywatch days and have been working for years with PETA, the world’s largest animal-protection organization, to help end Canada’s commercial seal slaughter. The World Trade Organization’s recent decision to uphold the EU’s ban on seal products underscores the fact that the welfare of seals targeted by commercial hunts is a legitimate public moral concern. There were no exports of Canadian pelts reported for 2014, and the council’s decision further shows that the world has moved on from seal products. Thank you for joining the EU, Russia, Taiwan, the U.S., and others that have banned seal fur and taken a stand for the tens of thousands of seals who die every year for a product that nobody needs or wants.

Sincerely,

Pamela Anderson