Animal rights activists and Inuit clash over Canada's Indigenous food traditions

Seal meat on a Toronto restaurant's menu has stirred up a decades-long conflict over anti-hunting campaigns, which the Inuit say threaten their existenceA newly opened restaurant in Toronto sparked heated online debate recently by revealing that two dishes on its menu would contain seal meat. Ku-kum Kitchen, an Indigenous-owned and operated restaurant, was targeted by an online petition which gained more than 6,300 signatures. The petition called for the restaurant to remove seal from its menu, stating that seal hunting is "violent, horrific, traumatizing and unnecessary".The controversy again highlighted the often uncomfortable relationship between animal rights and environmental groups and Indigenous communities who are struggling with profound issues of poverty and deprivation. Continue reading...