THE controversial annual culling of 86 000 Cape fur seals along Namibia's coast, which started a few days ago, was important for the Namibian economy, Fisheries Minister Bernard Esau said yesterday.

"The sealing sector is important in terms of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment and investment contributions," Esau told Parliament.

He said seal oil could be used in the industrial sector, while higher-grade oil could be used to produce margarine, soaps, cosmetics and paints.

The annual cull lasts from July 1 to November 15. The seal pups are usually clobbered to death with wooden clubs and the bulls are shot with rifles.

Namibia and Canada are the only two countries in the world that are still harvesting seals.

Recently Russia stopped the business and the European Union has banned imports of any seal products into its 27 member states.

Last year Namibia came under the international spotlight of animal rights groups for continuing with the annual sealing. This year, Seal Alert South Africa will lead a protest march in that country on July 17.

According to Esau, three concession holders were sharing the annual quota of 80 000 pups and 6 000 bulls and two processing plants exist in Namibia.

A new and larger investment for processing seal products could materialise soon, he added.

"Namibia is expecting the Harem Yavuz Group from Turkey, the biggest seals skin importer, to open a value-adding processing plant [in Namibia]," Minister Esau announced.

"This investment will result in a workforce of over 100 people," he added.

Locally produced seal oil, which is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, might soon be distributed in capsule form to all schools and school hostels as a health supplement, if consultations with the Education Ministry are successful.

The capsules were already sold in some countries, including Namibia, the minister added.

"Possible surgical implants from seal tissue have been on the table from an international scientific point of view and this will have a positive impact on human health globally and in Namibia," Esau stated.

"Usage of seal heart valves for human heart surgery has of late shown to be promising."

Defending the killing of seal pups in Namibia, Esau said although this had been labelled as 'inhumane' by animal activists, no animal rights groups had come up with proposals for alternative methods to kill them.

"Namibia shall continue with the sustainable management of all its natural resources, both living and non-living, including seals," he concluded.

Apart from fur jackets, shoes and bags made from sealskin, seals are also killed for their fat. The penises of seal bulls are dried and exported to Asian countries, where they are believed to increase the sexual potency of men.