SYDNEY, N.S. - The grey seal hunt on Nova Scotia's Hay Island got underway Thursday as the weather improved enough to allow hunters, anti-hunt activists and fisheries officers to set out.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans confirmed that all had arrived on the tiny outcrop of rock off eastern Cape Breton.
The department has set a quota of 1,900 animals.
Humane Society International/Canada issued a statement shortly after the hunt began, condemning federal and provincial officials for allowing it to happen in a designated wilderness area.
"What we witnessed is a crime against nature," said Rebecca Aldworth, the society's executive director. "One of the greatest wildlife spectacles on Earth has just been turned into a killing field."
The society is calling on Ottawa to implement a one-time buyout of the commercial sealing industry and to invest in economic alternatives including ecotourism.
