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Controversial seal hunt in Canada reaches final stage

The final leg of Canada's contentious seal hunt moved to the ice floes off northeastern Newfoundland and Labrador on Wednesday, with sealers expected to slaughter another 234,000 harp seal pups in just one day.

International animal-rights activists will be present to document the final phase of the annual cull, which the Canadian government insists is humane and sustainable, with a healthy population of more than 6 million harp seals.

One of the most prominent animal-rights activists, Rebecca Aldworth of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), will not be on the ice, however, as the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has accused her of disturbing the hunt and declined to issue her an observation permit.

She and two other HSUS observers were accused last month of coming within a 10m buffer zone between their inflatable boat and a sealing vessel, a claim she denies.

Hunters already have taken their quota of 91,000 seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence hunt, which ended last week.

Fisheries officials said between 200 and 300 fishing boats had set sail from northeastern Newfoundland and Labrador for the last installment of the hunt.

The hunters killed and skinned as many of the marine mammals as they could on Wednesday. There was no hunting yesterday, while fisheries officials counted the pelts to see if the quota had been met. The hunt was due to resume today if the quota had not been reached.

Protesters with the International Fund for Animal Welfare said they would photograph the slaughter from a helicopter, using scenes of carnage to promote a ban on Canadian seal products.

"If we can stop the markets for seal products, hopefully, we can reduce the number of seals being killed," said Sheryl Fink, a spokeswoman for the IFAW.

The commercial seal hunt in Atlantic Canada last year created more than C$16.5 million (US$14.4 million) for the isolated fishing communities in the Canadian Maritimes.
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