Is there any humane way to kill a seal? Hunters say yes, but animal-rights activists say no.

The much-debated topic will soon take center stage as the annual seal hunt conducted in eastern Canada is slated to begin tomorrow if the weather allows for it. This year hunters will be required to ensure seals are dead by severing the arteries under the mammal's flippers before skinning them. The maximum number of seals that can be killed is up to 275,000 this year from 270,000 last year, but down from the 335,000 of two years ago. The number lowered dramatically due to poor ice conditions. Newfoundland is home to 70 per cent of the seals that will be killed and 30 per cent more will be killed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the first stage of the hunt.

Phil Jenkins, a representative from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans says the new guideline takes a more humane approach to the hunt.

"That is now a new condition of a sealing license," Jenkins said. "We're just trying to make sure there is no possible way that a seal could be skinned while it was irreversibly unconscious but not dead. It's really going an extra distance to make sure that it's humane as it can be."

Animal-rights activists strongly disagree with Jenkins' sentiments.

"They've added bleeding to the killing process," said Rebecca Aldworth, director of Canadian wildlife issues for the Humane Society of the United States. "This won't change anything. People around the world are shocked to know that Canada, which is perceived as one of the most progressive nations in the world, allows this outdated, archaic slaughter to continue," Aldworth said.

There has been a ban in the  U.S. on seal products from Canada since 1972 and the European Unions is contemplating such a ban as well. While those opposed to the hunt are up in arms about what they say is animal cruelty, sealers and the country Fisheries Department say the annual activity is sustainable and financially aids communities who have suffered from a decline in cod stocks. Participating hunters are not permitted to kill seal pups that haven't yet molted.

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