The protesters piled up outside Canada House in central London

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) dressed in nude coloured body stockings, covered in fake blood, to depict skinned seals.

The group of protesters lay, piled up, outside the Canadian High Commission in central London.

Canadian authorities say the hunt is now more humane and claim the rising seal population needs controlling.

But Peta argues the market for fur is behind the resumption of the hunt.

Call for cull

The groups campaign co-ordinator Andrew Butler, said: "Whether it's clubbing baby seals, electrocuting minks on fur farms or crushing foxes' chests in traps, every single person who buys fur is responsible for suffering beyond imagination."

Other animal rights activists say Canada is trying to appease fishing communities for political reasons.

Fishermen blame seals for the devastation of Canada's fish stocks and have pressed for a renewed culling.

The two-month hunt takes place on ice floes off the Atlantic coast, where the seals give birth.

The hunt, which takes place in Newfoundland and Labrador, went into decline some 25 years ago, after images of hunters clubbing infant seals horrified TV viewers across the world.