BRUSSELS - Quebec Premier Jean Charest says he's ready to yield on the commercial seal hunt if it means appeasing European sentiments over the controversial practice.
Charest broached the thorny issue in Brussels on Sunday during a closed-door meeting with Stavros Dimas, the European commissioner for the environment.
The premier told a news conference he wanted to smooth over some of the issues that led to the European Union banning seal products last spring.
The key sticking point was the tool sometimes used to kill the animals - a traditional weapon called a hakapik slammed by animal rights activists like Brigitte Bardot and Paul McCartney as cruel.
They have shocked European politicians with the images of baby seals being bludgeoned to death on ice floes.
Charest says while the traditional hunting method conforms to international norms, he's nonetheless willing to consider an alternative if the Europeans are likewise willing to review their embargo.
"It's a question of perception, but it's a false perception," said Charest.
"We're ready to discuss it if we need to. It may be a path towards a solution. If we have to review our methods, we will."
Last May, EU members of Parliament endorsed a bill that would impose a tight ban on the import of seal products to all 27-member countries as of 2010.
Only seal products from Inuit or Aboriginal hunts would be exempt under the ban.
The decision has met with stiff opposition in Quebec, where fisheries ministry statistics suggest it could cut revenues for seal hunters on Quebec's Magdalene Islands by as much as a third.
In March, the national assembly unanimously passed a motion in support of the province's seal hunters.
But Christiane Bosmans, employed with the Quebec government office in Brussels, says it's a highly sensitive topic in Europe.
"We only see images that seem to show the poor animals are being mistreated," she said.
"Ordinary citizens don't understand that it's also an economic matter."
According to Charest, Dimas was open to exploring options and to adapting the embargo's rules - but he doesn't want to raise hopes too high.
"At the same time, we can't give up," he said.
"We couldn't miss the chance to tell the commissioner the hunt is in line with international norms. Quebecers need to do everything they can to keep the hunt open."
