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Canadian seal hunt gets under way

In this handout photo provided by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, a seal hunter works in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada, on March 24. Canadian authorities have authorized up to 350,000 seals to be killed in one of the largest annual hunts in decades. PHOTO: AFP

Some 12,000 sealers armed with rifles and spears launched for the ice floes and islands off eastern Canada on Monday in the world's largest seal hunt, accompanied by protesters condemning the US$20 million harvest as barbaric.

Hunters are allowed to kill 350,000 young seals this year, the largest number since the government instituted quotas in the 1960s. The harp seal population is burgeoning at 5.2 million and pelts are garnering record prices of about US$50 each.

"I believe this hunt is inherently cruel and the regulations to protect the seals are woefully inadequate," said Rebecca Aldworth of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which will monitor the cull.

The hunt off the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador received international attention beginning in the 1960s, and bloody television images of baby harp seals being clubbed to death led to bans on white seal fur and boycotts of Canadian fish products in many European markets.

Since then, the Canadian government has tried to ease protesters' concerns by banning the killing of seal pups under 12 days old -- when their fur changes from white to gray -- and implementing regulations designed to make the hunt more humane.

Many countries, including the US, still ban imports of seal products, but Ottawa has supported the hunt to help Canada's economically suffering coastal towns. The industry earned about US$15 million last year, primarily from pelt sales to Norway, Denmark and China.

Earlier this year, the Humane Society of the US took out full-page newspaper ads urging Americans to cancel trips to Canada and boycott Canadian products.

US Senator Carl Levin introduced a resolution condemning the hunt, and some of those attending the Sundance Film Festival in Utah earlier this year wore T-shirts reading: "Club Sandwiches, Not Seals."

However, some of the major activist groups that targeted sealing in the past said they have more pressing issues to address this year.

Andrew Male of Greenpeace Canada said the organization was "not actively campaigning" against the hunt, instead focusing on such issues as genetically modified foods and climate change.

Despite its newspaper ad, the Humane Society does not oppose the hunt itself, only some of the methods used by sealers, spokesman Nicholas Braden said.

Although most seals are shot instead of clubbed, many wounded animals are left to drown, he said. Also, an organization study found that 40 percent of the seals killed were still alive while being skinned, despite rules designed to prevent this, he said.

Steve Outhouse, a spokesman for Canada's Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans, disputed those accusations. A Canadian Veterinary Medical Association study found that 98 percent of the seals were killed "in a medically humane manner with the minimum of pain," he said on Monday.
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