On Tuesday, Denmark’s upmarket Magasin store is to stop all sales of products made from furs from wild animals or from pelts that have not resulted from food production.

Magasin, which is owned by Debenhams of the United Kingdom, is one of the latest outlets to target fur sales, as a result of campaigns by animal rights activists to stop the global seal cull. Magasin’s decision is a particular thorn in the eye of Greenland Inuits, who are part of the Danish commonwealth.

In the light of Magasin’s decision, a group of Greenland Inuit hunters is to travel to Copenhagen in order to demonstrate at a happening on May 1 to highlight the problems for indigenous hunters caused by Europe-wide bans on sealskin sales.

“When you live in Greenland, you live from maritime resources. We have always done that, as that is what there is. Hunters in the outlying districts in particular find it difficult to feed their families when the sealskin trade drops, as they have no alternatives. Many of them have become dependent on social aid over the past couple of years,” says Leif Fountain, chairman of the Greenland Hunters’ Association, himself a fisherman and hunter for the past 27 years.

While Canadian hunters use clubs for about a third of their cull, Greenland Inuit use rifles, with wastage only occurring if an animal is only wounded and escapes before a hunter reaches it.

World Wildlife Fund Climate and Energy Executive John Nordbo says that the seal population is not in danger and that Magasin’s fur policy is too restrictive.

“There are plenty of seal, and I think that Magasin’s fur policy is too restrictive. Greenland hunters are put under pressure because of worries that primarily concern hunting methods in Canada. That is the background for the drop in sales of seal fur products. Businesses such as Magasin should instead enter into a dialogue with sealskin producers to make sure that animal welfare and sustainability are at the top of the agenda,” says Nordbo.

According to the latest surveys, populations of the two main seal populations - harp seal and ringed seal - have increased considerably. Harp seal have grown in numbers from two million to nine million since the 1970s while there are said to be around six million ring seal. The harbour seal, which is also found around Greenland, is an endangered species and is not hunted.

Sara Olsvig, a Greenland member of the Danish Parliament, says that the EU is mainly responsible for the sealskin crisis in Greenland by banning imports of seal products into the Union. Although the ban includes an exception for indigenous, sustainable hunts, the EU has not informed customs authorities, businesses and consumers that sealskin from Greenland is acceptable.

“This is not just an animal welfare issue, it is also about a people’s right to live off the resources we have and to maintain a basic part of our culture and identity,” says Olsvig.

Magasin says that its decision will not have any effect on the Greenland Inuit.

“We have basically not sold furs of any sort for the past 10 years. So the demand hasn’t been there for some time and we are happy that we now have a policy that focuses on animal welfare and ethics,” says Magasin Communications Executive Jan Helleskov.

“We have decided that we will only sell pelts from cattle, sheep, lamb and goat, and only if the pelt is a bi-product of foodstuff production. But if one of our concessions wants to sell a sealskin product we will ask Debenhams what they think,” he concludes.

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