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Protesters march through downtown Vancouver during an an anti-seal hunt demonstration Thursday March 15, 2007. They demonstrated outside federal Fisheries offices<br>
Chuck Stoody/The Canadian Press

Seal hunt protesters to speak out during torch run

The Canadian Press
Posted Wednesday, November 18, 2009 1:58 PM ET

HALIFAX - A pair of animal rights groups say they will be protesting the seal hunt during the Olympic torch run over the next few months.

However, organizers say they won't disrupt the run and will instead be inflating a giant seal named Sparky at locations away from the spectators.

Dan Matthews, the senior vice-president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said today his group will use "the opportunity'' of the torch tour to deliver their message that the seal hunt should be banned.

He says with "the eyes of the world'' on Canada and the Vancouver Olympics his group "can't resist the opportunity to engage people'' about the commercial seal hunt issue.

Some of the protesters are carrying signs showing the Olympic logo _ an Inuit Inukshuk - swinging a hakapik at a white seal sitting on a Canadian flag.

One onlooker in Halifax, 20-year-old Craig Dewar, says he thinks the protests are conveying a "one-sided'' message and he says he believes a ban on the hunt will lead to too large of a seal population.

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Comments (1)

windsor21
Nov 24, 2009 | 1:29 AM ET

ok..... for one yes it should not happen but do u really think ur going to get any where the world is on vancouver 2010 ur just a few ppl that really no one cares about.... and really there are so many other things that u should be worried about but ppl will do anything to rune is for other kids and fmaliy have to c this stupied protest and when the games come ur just going to be a number like the rest of the ppl protesting.. sorry but its the truth and really if they cared about shit like this they would have allready done something about it and really is has nothing to do with 2010 ??? or am i wrong ????????
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