Canadian annual seal hunt begins despite protests

The annual Canadian Seal Hunt began yesterday, despite protests against it year after year and the fact that other countries are banning seal product imports from this hunt. Animal rights groups have the biggest issue with the way the seals are killed: some are shot, but others are clubbed on the head, and many consider this to be inhumane.

Celebrities do get involved in the protests. Three years ago, Sir Paul McCartney and his then wife Heather Mills spent the day protesting the hunt on the ice floes off the coast of Prince Edward Island, but the hunt has continued every year since.

The hunters are allowed to catch up to 270,000 Harp Seal pups every year off the coast off Newfoundland and Labrador and the Gulf of St. Lawrence; the total population is estimated to be 5.5 million. They are also allowed to catch 8,200 Hooded Seals from 600,000 and 50,000 Grey Seals from 300,000. The Harp Seals are the ones that have fluffy white pelts and they are allowed to be killed once they shed their pelts between 10 to 21 days old. 

Russia has supposedly banned their seal hunt, and the United States, the Netherlands and Belgium have banned the import of seal products. The European Parliament have endorsed a ban on seal products by the 27 EU members but all members must approve the bill for it to become a law.

The hunt can provide up to 35 per cent of the sealer's annual income so the government feel it is important to keep going.
Observer permits are issued during the seal hunt for protestors and journalists and many animal rights groups go to protest and observe how the seal hunt is conducted.