PETA to observe seal hunt

PETA accepts Inuit invitation to seal hunt

Wary Iqaluit mayor invites animal rights group to see seal harvestAt council's behest, Sheutiapik responded with a letter saying Inuit support the Newfoundland hunt and added an invitation for PETA representatives to come to Iqaluit, join a group of Inuit seal hunters and see how the animals are both harvested and used in Nunavut.

"We're happy to be able to meet with the Inuit and hear what they have to say," said PETA spokesman Matt Rice from Virginia.

Rice said PETA draws a distinction between commercial seal hunts, such as those off Newfoundland, and aboriginal subsistence hunts. But that distinction ends as soon as the hunter sells the skin instead of making a pair of kamiks out of it.

"Any Inuit who are participating in the sale on the international market have abandoned their traditional practice," he said.