The annual Namibian seal cull has been put on hold for two weeks, pending the possible sale of the seal industry to a South African seal rescue organisation.

Francois Hugo of Seal Alert-SA was this week approached by the only remaining purchaser of Namibia's seal skins and pelts with a suggestion that he and the remaining sealers be bought out.

Hugo is now trying to raise the cash to make a purchase that would save thousands of Cape fur seals from the killing fields and could see their possible return to their natural island habitats.

The offer to sell their total stake in the sealing industry to Seal Alert-SA comes only weeks after Russia banned seal killing and the European Union banned the import of all seal products, including that of the Cape fur seal.

The Canadian government is considering proposed legislation that would also see an end to seal culling there.

If seal killing is banned in Canada, Namibia would be the only country in the world continuing with the clubbing to death of 85 000 seal pups and shooting of 6 000 bulls for their genitals.

Hugo had earlier questioned how the Namibian government could continue to defy all animal protection laws that stated clearly that to beat an animal to death was cruel and criminal and maintain the decriminalisation of these acts through regulations which commercialised the country's seal industry.

The seal conservationist met with Namibian authorities, including Prime Minister Nahas Angula, in 2007 to appeal for an end to the annual seal cull after it emerged that the country's seal population had decreased dramatically because of the cull and a mass die-off.

This year's seal culling season would have started on Wednesday.

Article Continues: IOL