Canadian seal hunt scaled back

The federal fisheries ministry also promised stricter controls on hunters to stop them killing more than their quota. The seals are either shot or clubbed to death on ice floes in a hunt that animal rights protesters say is inhumane.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans set this year's seal quota at 270,000 animals, down from 335,000 in 2006. It estimates the east coast harp seal herd is around 5.5 million.

The hunt had been set to begin on March 28 but no start date has yet been announced. The first stage takes place on ice floes to the south of the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence.