Commercial seal hunts, particularly the Canadian harp seal hunt, are among the most internationally contested wildlife welfare issues, with millions of seals killed annually by methods whose humaneness is disputed.
Commercial seal hunting welfare concerns centre on the proportion of animals that regain consciousness during or after being shot before being killed by clubbing or hauled onto boats. Independent observer studies have documented seals showing signs of consciousness during skinning, representing acute welfare failures at scale. The speed of ice harvesting under commercial pressure creates conditions where thorough confirmation of insensibility before skinning is inconsistently applied. The subsistence Inuit hunt raises different welfare considerations, typically involving smaller numbers with closer individual killing and cultural relationships with the animals.