Canada seal cull condemned

Campaigners yesterday alleged the seal hunt in eastern Canada was inhumane and environmentally unsustainable. They also said that, rather than protecting fishing stocks, the cull might actually reduce the numbers of some fish.

About 320,000 harp seals are expected to be clubbed or shot to death and campaigners say the Canadian authorities have not done enough research into the numbers of the seals and their potential vulnerability.

This year's hunt is the third year that hunters have been allowed to take more than 300,000 animals, which are processed for their pelts. The Government and local seal hunters argue the hunt provides much-needed money in an economically depressed region.