Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Canada filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the European Union’s decision to ban trade in seal products.

The complaint was filed after the ban was published in the Official Journal of the European Union, the final stage of the EU’s legislative process, Canada’s Trade Minister Stockwell Day said in an e-mailed statement.

“Canada is standing up for its sealers,” Day said in the statement. “We believe that this is a violation of the EU’s trade obligations.”

The Canadian government claims the EU ban doesn’t contain an exemption clause for humanely harvested seal products. Canada argues that scientific evidence shows the country’s seal hunt follows what it calls “rigorous” standards of animal welfare.

The value of Canada’s seal hunt this year will be about C$10 million ($9.3 million), down from about C$35 million in 2006, Day said in July. About 25 percent of the seal harvest is exported to Europe.

To contact the reporter on this story: Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at targitis@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 2, 2009 11:19 EST