The ban was imposed by the Russian Federal Fisheries Agency. The documentation has been sent for state registration with the Ministry of Justice.
"The bloody type of seal hunting, the killing of defenseless animals that can't even be called 'hunting' is banned in Russia just as it is in most developed countries, it's a serious step forward to the preservation of bio-diversity in the Russian Federation," Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev said.
He said environmental organizations had played a major role in the ban being adopted through their pro-active position and their educational and public awareness campaigns.
Environmentalists said they were happy with the decision.
"We are delighted at the adoption of this decision and would like to separately underline the important role played by the Russian Natural Resources Ministry in this cause. Thanks to their efforts this has finally taken place. Being a state structure, it greatly influenced the advancement of this process," International Fund for Animal Welfare's Anna Filippova said.
She added that anti-hunting demonstrations, which had been held in 25 Russian cities and abroad, had also helped people gain greater understanding of the issues involved in seal hunting.
