A group of Inuits, natives of Greenland, are lobbying to lift a 2009 European ban on seal products. Since the well-intended ban went into effect in 2009, exports of seal pelts have dropped 90 percent. “The impact on Greenland’s coastal economy has been disastrous.” Their challenge is to convince lawmakers that the ban on seal hunting is misplaced and contributing to the decline of Greenland’s livelihood.
Due to the ban, Greenland is now facing an overpopulation of seals. According to qz.com, “The seal population in the waters surrounding Greenland is an estimated 16 million (whereas the island’s human population barely crested 50,000 in 2013).”
