a watered down compromise could be a possible outcome of the ongoing clash between the European Union (eu) and us over fur trade. The issue in contention involves an international agreement on humane trapping standards which eu would like to enforce and which us resists. eu has twice delayed imposing a ban on fur products from countries that use leghold traps. us, meanwhile, has threatened to take eu to the World Trade Organization (wto) if the import ban is in place.

eu has already entered into a compromise deal with Canada and Russia on restricting the use of some leghold traps. Under the deal, steel-jawed traps will not be used after four years while padded and aquatic traps would be allowed. This has, however, irked several eu ministers especially those from uk, Germany and the Netherlands who want tougher restrictions to be imposed.

Animal right activists are also unhappy with the current eu stand. Said Cathy Liss of the Washington-based Animal Welfare Institute, "Our hope was for an agreement with firm language