Lack of ice kills thousands of seals but cull will continue [View All]

[babsbunny]

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2405136.ece

Lack of ice kills thousands of seals but cull will continue
By Jerome Taylor
Published: 30 March 2007
Thousands of harp seal pups are assumed dead in Canada's Gulf of St Lawrence due to the lack of ice floes, which mother seals require to nurse their pups successfully.

Experts with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), who have been carrying out daily surveillance flights over the region, report that the Gulf of St Lawrence - the annual birthing ground for hundreds of thousands of harp seals - is devoid of both ice and seals. Their report came as Canada announced a seal cull quota of 270,000 - down 30,000 from last year. Canadian officials said that hunters will be allowed to kill a quarter fewer seals on the east coast this year mainly because of poor ice conditions where the animals give birth.