Inuit loophole for sealskin sporrans

The Inuit said the trade ban on seal skin would threaten their way of life. Scottish kilt makers who have been prevented from making sealskin sporrans due to an EU trade ban have been handed a lifeline by the Inuit. The indigenous people in the Arctic region of countries such as Canada argued the ban was detrimental to their traditional way of life. A ruling has now temporarily exempted them from the effects of the ban, which came into force last month.

Sporran manufacturers said it would allow the continued use of the skin. Sporrans, Scottish Gaelic for purse, are worn with kilts as an essential part of tradition Highland dress. Ian Chisholm, of the Scottish Kilt Makers' Association, said: "Seals have been used down the generations. It has been a traditional skin. "The way the light hits the skin, it has a lovely sheen to it and a lustre that gives a lovely quality to it." European MPs voted in favour of a ban on the trade in seal products last May and the law came into force in August. The move followed a three-year campaign triggered by a public outcry at annual seal culls in Canada and Norway. Synthetic materials and rabbit fur have been used in sporrans as an alternatives to seal skins.