Seals Animal

Canada's annual seal hunt started Monday, under pressure from a possible European Union ban on imported seal products. The world's largest marine mammal hunt was called "inherently inhumane" this month by a European Parliament committee that endorsed the bill to ban the import of seal products to the 27-member union. Animal rights groups say the hunt is cruel and difficult to monitor and ravages the seal population.

Summer Dunsmore, 19, glanced over her shoulder at the 50 or so harbor seals snoozing on a small horseshoe-shaped beach beside the Children's Pool in La Jolla. "Look at them," said the La Jolla High graduate who is now a student at San Diego Mesa College. "They're such peaceful creatures."