Animal Welfare, Public Morals and Trade: the WTO Panel Report in EC – Seal Products
On November 25, 2013, a panel established under the dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued its report in the EC – Seal Products dispute.[1] The decision arose from complaints by Canada and Norway against a legislative scheme adopted by the European Union (EU) in 2009 to prohibit the importation and marketing of seal products (the EU Seal Regime).[2] On January 24, 2014, Canada and Norway filed to appeal the panel's decision; the