This year’s East Coast seal hunt was one of the worst since the early 1990s, according to federal officials, with a total catch of less than 10 per cent of the allowable 400,000. In all, seal hunters slaughtered just 38,000 animals. The slump is being blamed on a combination of factors, including poor ice conditions. The most significant may be the EU’s wholesale ban on seal product imports, which dropped the price of pelts so much the hunt was no longer profitable.