Tanya Tagaq #sealfie provokes anti-sealing activists

Animal activists are pushing back against an online movement promoting the Inuit seal hunt.

Many people, especially in northern Canada, are posting pictures of themselves wearing sealskins and calling them "sealfies."

• Inuit gather in Iqaluit for pro-sealing, anti-Ellen #sealfie
• BLOG: ​Northerners respond to Ellen's seal hunt views with fur photos
• AUDIO: Tanya Tagaq speaks to Carol Off on As it Happens

It's part of a social media movement to support the Inuit way of life, which supporters say is being attacked by groups like the Humane Society of the United States and PETA.

Musician Tanya Tagaq posted a picture of her baby next to a dead seal near her home town of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, and got more than she bargained for in return. 

"It became quite hurtful,” Tagaq said. “Right now, actually there's a woman who has my picture up on her Twitter and the things that people are saying about myself and my baby. It's just complete harassment. It's not OK."

Tagaq said she doesn't know the woman. She says the woman posted an online petition to have Tagaq's children taken from her.

Tagaq said she's not considering legal action against the online harassment.

Many animal rights activists oppose the seal hunt, including the indigenous seal hunt, because they believe the animals are clubbed to death as babies. In Nunavut, adult seals, like the one shown in Tagaq's #sealfie, are harvested after being shot in the head. 

The harvesting of white-coated seal pups has been illegal in Canada since 1987.