Canada's commercial seal hunt, which started in 1723, is the world's largest hunt for marine mammals and has been objected to by animal rights groups; in 2008 the Canadian government set a limit for allowable catch amounts.
Newfoundland and Labrador and the Gulf of St. Lawrence were the first regions to experience large scale sealing. Large-scale commercial seal hunting became an annual event starting in 1723 and expanded rapidly near the turn of the 18th century. Newfoundland and Labrador (/nufnlnd ... lbrdr/) is the easternmost province of Canada. Canada's seal hunt is the world's largest hunt for marine mammals. Some animal rights groups were given observer permits and monitored the hunt. They said it was cruel and that it ravaged the seal population. The total allowable catch for 2008 was set by the Canadian government at 275,000 harp seals (the quota includes 2,000 seals for personal seal hunting, and 4,950 seals for the Aboriginal seal hunt), 8,200 hooded seals, and 12,000 grey seals. 
