Seal culling occurs in several countries as fisheries management, sparking controversy about both the effectiveness of culling and the welfare of animals killed.
Welfare concerns in seal culling center on the humaneness of killing methods and the stress of chase before killing. Club stunning of seal pups, while intended to produce rapid unconsciousness, has been criticized based on post-mortem examination of skulls that show inadequate stunning rates. The scale of culls means that even low rates of poor welfare represent large numbers of animals killed inhumanely. The justification for culling based on fish stock protection is contested by marine biologists who argue seals are not the primary driver of fish declines.