Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada
Canadas annual East Coast seal hunt got off to a raucous start last week, with several clashes between seal hunters and animal-rights activists. Hunters threw seal guts at activists, who were attempting to videotape the hunt. When several sealing vessels swerved toward protesters small, inflatable boats, one small boat was rammed and damaged. "Were so frustrated by them," said one seal hunter, who said the seals represent the hunters livelihoods. Sealers took 3,000 seals on opening day, less than the 5,000 theyd hoped for. Because of unusually thin ice, hunters had to shoot seals from their boats, instead of employing their preferred method of striking them with spiked clubs.
