Seal Hunt

A sealing boat watches harp seals lie on a ice flow in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 28, 2005. Canada's contentious seal hunt - the world's largest - was to begin here the following day.

A harp seal sits on an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 28, 2005. A group of Newfoundland seal hunters speaking with media and photographers are seen in the background.

Sealing boats sit along an ice floe waiting for the annual harp seal hunt to begin, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 28, 2005. A Department of Fisheries and Oceans spokesman said the fishermen need the hunt to supplement their income, since many fishing families only earn about $9,800 a year from their regular catches.

A harp seal basks in the sun on an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 28, 2005. The hunt has been the target of protests since the 1960s. Animal rights activists say the pups are clubbed to death and often skinned alive.

Harp seals bask in the sunshine while lying on an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 28, 2005.

Harp seals bask in the sun on an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 28, 2005. The hunt is permitted about two weeks after the seal pups are born and their fur changes from white to gray. Most killed are between 12 to 25 days old.

A harp seal poses for a photographer on an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 28, 2005.

A harp seal sits on an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 28, 2005. Ed Frenette of the P.E.I. Fishermen's Association told Canadian television that harp seal pelts were at an all-time high of $57, and opponents of the hunt ought to target buyers, not the fishermen who desperately need the income. Many countries, including the United States, ban imports of seal products.

A harp seal looks toward a sealer walking along an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 28, 2005. Sealers and government officials who monitor the hunt insist the pups die instantly, under strict guidelines.

Seal hunters club a harp seal on an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 29, 2005. Though some hunters use clubs and spears, the majority in Newfoundland use rifles, because ice floe conditions make it difficult to get close to the seals.

Seal hunters gather their catch during the annual harp seal hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 29, 2005. An International Fund for Animal Welfare report says the harvest of up to 975,000 seals will damage the marine mammal population. Meanwhile, hunters blame the seals' voracious appetites for the devastation of Canada's fish stocks, and argue a cull is necessary.

A dead harp seal is left in its hole on an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 29, 2005.

Sealers gather their catch during the first day of the annual harp seal hunt, on an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 29, 2005.

Sealers gather their catch during the first day of the annual harp seal hunt, on an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 29, 2005.

Sealers gather their catch during the first day of the annual harp seal hunt, on an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 29, 2005.

Greenpeace activists secure a painting with a scene of a seal hunt in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, March 29, 2005. Greenpeace was protesting against the start of the Canadian seal hunt by staging a four-day picket.

A harp seal looks at the remains of other seals on an ice floe in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince Edward Island, Canada, March 29, 2005.