Photos: Canadian seal hunt spills blood on the ice in Gulf of St. Lawrence

by Stephen Hui on Mar 23, 2012 at 11:08 am
A hunter clubs a harp seal during the 2012 commercial seal hunt off the Magdalen Islands in Quebec.
Sheryl Fink/IFAW

The Canadian commercial seal hunt is underway in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

While warm weather and poor markets are combining to make this year's hunt a small affair, the International Fund for Animal Welfare has observed six or so boats out shooting and clubbing harp seals.

According to the animal-rights group, about 530 seals have been killed since the hunt began on March 22 around Quebec's Magdalen Islands. IFAW expects the Gulf hunt to wrap up by this weekend.

In early April, the commercial seal hunt off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador is expected to start.

Here's several photos shot by IFAW of the 2012 Gulf seal hunt.

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Sheryl Fink/IFAW
Sheryl Fink/IFAW
Sheryl Fink/IFAW
Sheryl Fink/IFAW
Sheryl Fink/IFAW
Comments (28) Add New Comment
Nancy T
Mar 23, 2012 at 1:26 pm
The people taking part in this "hunt" are complete and utter maniacs. They dont' even have the excuse of money to justify this violence. They must simply love killing baby animals, no other reason to be out there.
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Rose Graham
Mar 23, 2012 at 4:27 pm
This is so barbaric. I know that these people need to survive but the government should be looking at other ways for them to survive. This isn't the way. The government isn't listening to what the voters are telling them. This way of living is over for them
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d brown
Mar 23, 2012 at 6:14 pm
these people are totally fucked up .........sick bastards , i hope they all burn in hell
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ice
Mar 23, 2012 at 6:44 pm
rose, they don't need that money to survive. it's about 1% of total revenues, and that's before the market collapsed. i'm not entirely sure what sort of pleasure they get doing that - it's pretty sick. and embarassing to canada. and it's costing us tax money. just a form of handouts so they can buy some new tv's. it's very disturbing that people who do this aren't in jail or in psychiatry treatment.
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Olga Dziembowska
Mar 23, 2012 at 7:20 pm
These sealers should really have some mental problem and be completely brainwashed, have no ambition to get a real job. These pelts are worthless. How can they sleep at night after slaughtering all these creatures? Poor seals don't even have legs or wings to escape from them!!How can they call it a hunt? It is a murder, indeed.I hate Canada, Will never ever travel there in my life!
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Jorgiana Cole
Mar 23, 2012 at 11:40 pm
They are already in hell...of their own making. It should be obvious who they are.
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Marc
Mar 24, 2012 at 8:11 am
Des SADIQUES
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Anita Sonigra
Mar 24, 2012 at 9:34 am
...and we all watch, see it happen every year... and do nothing about it!
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marcel theriault
Mar 24, 2012 at 11:25 am
no fur market this year sealers are there for the meat
Undeniable truths about the seal hunt : http://www.chasseursdephoques.com/en.pdf
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marcel theriault
Mar 24, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Undeniable truths about the seal hunt :http://www.sealhunters.com/en.pdf
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Léonard Chevrier
Mar 24, 2012 at 2:38 pm
We kill animal's to use there fat oil. But some Américan's kill human's for BLACK OIL in Irak,Afghanistan and destroys the nature for some more.
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bdubblut
Mar 24, 2012 at 3:27 pm
if the universe were to come along and club these so called " hunters " i would so turn and look the other way.


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raulesco
Mar 24, 2012 at 9:14 pm
holy jeeze settle down you pinkos, its a tradition its been going on for hundreds of years, way before you cheese eaters could stick your noses in the air and act like your shit don't stink
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Jonathan M
Mar 25, 2012 at 7:36 am
Still talking shit about this hunt, just can't beleive it ! EVEN tho the population of seal his growing ( EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT ) , EVEN THO we use as we can say the "BEST WAY in a civilised manner " to kill a seal, EVEN THO we Don't kill baby seal since 45 year ago, EVEN THO we use 99.9 % of the Seal to do research , meat and the fur, EVEN THO we kill 50% of the QUOTAS that we have. EVEN THO coast guard are there to watch everyhting his done proprely , AND U STILL make it worst that is really in deed ! So for Y'ALL who dont know ANYTHING about this except SOME PHOTOSHOP Or real photos of whatever they can do on a picture to make it worst, GO F"/$ yourself , i'm tired of all this crap ! A lawyer knows his case before going to court ! STOP acting like yall know everything , !
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John s
Mar 25, 2012 at 10:53 am
Oh no! A few hundred seals are killed. That's nothing. We kill tens of millions of birds every year on this continent simply by having skyscrapers and wireless transmission towers, yet no one says stop using cell phones and bring down the skyscrapers. The seal population is, if nothing else, unsustainably large, yet we are collapsing North American song and migratory bird populations. The outrage is completely in the wrong direction.

What total hypocrites.
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karen lyons kalmenson
Mar 26, 2012 at 2:48 am
for those who hunt me because i am a seal
did you ever stop to think just how i feel
i just want to sit on my rocks and ice
if you would leave me be, that would be so nice
my fur is mine, not yours for the taking
just look at all the red blood you are making
go back to your homes, your families, your wives
and leave us seals alone to enjoy our lives
KLK
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Gil
Mar 26, 2012 at 6:13 am
Will soon have to go out on the ice and cull many hundreds of thousands of seal just to avoid a total and irreversible collapse of the fish stocks... and that will be the fault of all these stupid seal lovers that don't know shit about real ecology.
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Gil
Mar 26, 2012 at 6:18 am
Hey animal lovers, watch these if you dare : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfXu9V9ggoU
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rose graham
Mar 26, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Peple are getting misinformed at what I was saying. These people need to survive. But instead of killing the seal pups, the government should be providing them other ways to make a living. Nobody wants the seal furs and the meat anymore. The government wastes millions of dollars to promote the slaughter. So instead we should be fighting against the government
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lorenia
Mar 26, 2012 at 1:03 pm
There is no photoshop needed to show the disgusting job these people do! please, millions of other animals die around the world in millions of other ways, but this is horryfying...CLUBBING a seal? cant you people see the brutality in this??? the horror? when will this end????? may the thousands of seals that have died and that will continue to die this season rest in peace, and may this be the LAST year this terrible slaughter happens in this country, which i will never visit until they stop this!!!!!!! Dont be idiots and dont fool yourselves, find another humane way to end your problems with the seal population and all the stuff you keep bitching about.
END THE SEAL SLAUGHTER!!!!!!!!!
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