"Our organization, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, is opposed to this hunt because it's the largest and the cruelest slaughter of marine animal species found anywhere on the planet and I think that's a shame for our country," its spokeswoman for Canada, Melissa Tkachyk, told CBC.
"They're using the graphic images of seals, the harvesting of seals on the white ice and the blood to promote their own selfish lifestyles," said Canadian Sealers Association president Frank Pinhorn.
Friday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada was the victim of "an international propaganda campaign" by animal rights activists and will not stop its controversial seal hunt.
"That's not on our agenda today (to stop it)," Harper told reporters as activists and celebrities including French film legend Brigitte Bardot and former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney doubled their efforts to end the "massacre."
The Dalai Lama, Bardot, McCartney and his wife Heather, singer Charles Aznavour, actors Kim Bassinger, Juliette Binoche and Richard Dean Anderson, among many others, have campaigned against the hunt over the years
Unstable ice, bad weather conditions and the poor quality of the seal pelts slowed down the hunt on Sunday, March 26, sending many hunters back to land.
Name: Harp Seal (
Phoca groenlandica)
Primary Classification: Phocidae (Earless Seals)
Location: Northern Atlantic and Arctic oceans
Habitat: Arctic waters and ice floes
Diet: Cod, capelin, herring, halibut, and small crabs
Size: Averages 4.6 to 6.6 ft in length and 220 to 320 lbs in weight.
Description: Silver-white fur; black head; dark markings on the back that resemble harps; wide face; close-set eyes
Cool Facts: It migrates over 5,000 miles between its feeding and breeding grounds. It can remain below water for up to 30 minutes at a time.
Conservation Status: Common
What Can I Do?: If you oppose the Canadian seal hunt, please visit the
Humane Society of the United States' Protect Seals site for information on how you can help.
