Alliance revitalizes NAIA's call for changes to the US Marine Mammal Protection
Act
In March 2000, participants at the National Animal Interest Alliance Animal
law Conference drafted and ratified a resolution urging the US Congress to bring
the Marine Mammal Protection Act into compliance with world trade agreements
so that the Inuit and other indigenous people can once again benefit from sustainable
trade in abundant marine mammal species. At its May 2001 conference, the Alliance
for America re-energized the effort by unanimous approval
of the NAIA resolution.
Both resolutions note that seals are abundant in Canada and other regions,
that indigenous people depend on seal meat and products for sustenance and trade,
and that the US ban on the import of seal products severely harms native cultures.
The joint effort of NAIA and the Alliance for America will help indigenous people
regain their ecological relationship with their land and improve their lot through
sustainable use of natural resources. NAIA congratulates the Alliance for America
for adopting this resolution and urges other groups and individuals to climb
on the bandwagon to fulfill the ideals expressed by participants at the NAIA
March 2000 Animal Law Conference and the 2001 AfA meeting.
Resolution from the National Animal Interest Alliance Animal Law Conference
March 4-5, 2000, in Portland Oregon.
The key observation arising from the NAIA Animal Law Conference is that the
promotion of animal-rights beliefs has produced unacceptable consequences that
include ongoing violations of fundamental human rights.
The delegation of Inuit people from Arctic Canada have eloquently described
how their culture, livelihoods and society are being devastated by the animal-rights
inspired Marine Mammal Protection Act - a law which contradicts accepted principles
of sustainable use and environmental conservation.
This outdated legislation arbitrarily bans the import of seal products from
an abundant species and violates the American ideal of individual freedom and
the rights of the people to self determination, including the right to use and
trade abundant local resources.
We believe that the American people would be shocked and distressed to discover
that the MMPA has so severely harmed so many people and cultures. This law disrupts
the ecological relationship with which indigenous people have lived in harmony
with the environment as active practitioners of sustainable use.
Seals are abundant in Arctic Canada and other regions and provide a vital source
of food in Arctic communities, but provisions of the MMPA prevent Inuit and
other people from fully utilizing animals upon which they depend for their survival,
because trade is prohibited.
Therefore this assembly of the NAIA:
I) Calls for the amendment of the MMPA to allow for the import of seal products,
to protect US commercial and recreational fisheries, and to bring the MMPA into
accord with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
as implemented by the Endangered Species Act and the Uruguay Round Agreements
under the WTO; and,:
II) Resolves to work to inform the American public and legislators about the
injustice which has been done by this law; and,
III) Calls upon all people and organizations that respect human rights to join
us in our efforts to right the wrongs that have been done.
This resolution was unanimously approved by the NAIA Animal Law conference
assembly in Portland, Oregon. March 5th, 2000 and ratified by the NAIA Board.
NAIA invites other groups and individuals to sign on as well by contacting
president@naiaonline.org or calling (503) 761-1139. For more information, see
"NAIA conference highlights human rights
and animal welfare"; "US marine mammal law
plays havoc with Inuit lives"; "Inuit
people wait at civilization's edge for the world to notice their plight";
and "The strange politics of the Marine Mammal
Protection Act steals puppets from native people".
The Alliance for America resolution
THE KEY OBSERVATION arising from the Alliance for America 11th Annual Fly-In
for Freedom is that the promotion of animal-rights beliefs has produced unacceptable
consequences that include ongoing violations of fundamental human rights.
The representative of the Inuit people from Arctic Canada has eloquently described
how their culture, livelihoods and society are being devastated by the animal
rights-inspired Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) - a law which contradicts
accepted principles of sustainable use and environmental conservation.
This outdated legislation arbitrarily bans the import of seal products from
an abundant species, and violates the American ideal of individual freedom and
the rights of the people to self-determination, including the right to use and
trade abundant local resources.
We believe that the American people would be shocked and distressed to discover
that the MMPA has so severely harmed so many people and cultures. Indigenous
people attempt to live in harmony with the environment as active practitioners
of sustainable use. The MMPA disrupts this ecological relationship.
Seals are abundant in Arctic Canada and other regions and provide a vital source
of food in Arctic communities, but provisions of the MMPA prevent Inuit and
other people from fully utilizing animals upon which they depend for their survival,
because trade is prohibited.
Therefore this assembly of the Alliance for America:
I) Calls for the amendment of the MMPA to allow for the import of seal products,
to protect US commercial and recreational fisheries, and to bring the MMPA into
accord with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
as implemented by the Endangered Species Act and our agreements under the WTO;
and,
II) Resolves to work to inform the American public and legislators about the
injustice which has been done by this law; and,
III) Calls upon all people and organizations that respect human rights to join
us in our efforts to right the wrongs that have been done.
Passed unanimously May 20, 2001, 12:30 p.m.
[Signed] Dale E. Anderson,
President, Alliance for America
(www.allianceforamerica.org)
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