NUNAVUT - An international campaign launched by animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has raised the ire of Inuit across Nunavut.

The "Olympic Shame 2010 " campaign website features anti-sealing videos, "Bloody Canada" e-cards and colouring pages depicting the three Vancouver Olympic mascots as bloodthirsty seal hunters. It also encourages a boycott of Canadian maple syrup.

The above image, depicting an inuksuk beating a seal with a hakapik, used by animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in its most recent campaign has sparked anger in Nunavut. - image courtesy of PETA

But it's the campaign's flagship image – a stylized inuksuk beating a seal with a hakapik – that has Inuit calling the campaign racist and saying PETA has gone too far.

Concern over the spoofed Vancouver Olympic logo was first raised in Nunavut's legislative assembly by Baker Lake MLA Moses Aupaluktuq.

"What the anti-seal lobbyists are doing has a major impact on Nunavummiut and on Inuit culture. It clearly shows a gross misunderstanding of the seal hunt," he said.

Aupaluktuq added Inuit have a responsibility to educate the world about Inuit and Inuit culture since the inuksuk is being used as the official 2010 Olympic symbol. He called on Environment Minister Daniel Shewchuk to make an official response to PETA. Ashley Byrne, a Washington, D.C.-based senior campaigner for PETA, said the inuksuk image was meant to be a play on the Olympic logo and not the inuksuk as an Inuit cultural symbol.

When asked about concerns the image was racist, Byrne responded: "It's very important for us to tie this to the Olympics using the logo because we need to intensify global pressure on the Canadian government to end the annual seal massacre so that no mother seals are ever forced to helplessly look on as their babies are beaten and skinned for their fur."

Byrne said PETA does distinguish between the commercial seal slaughter on the East coast of Canada and sustenance hunting, but would not go as far as to support the Inuit seal hunt.

"Our Olympic shame campaign is against the commercial seal slaughter which is not a sustenance trade for native people," she said.

"We condemn all seal slaughter," she added.

Byrne said she would like Inuit to speak out against the commercial seal hunt and acknowledged Inuit seal hunting only makes up a fraction of the seals killed in Canada each year.

"We hope the Inuit can surely stop defending this barbarous slaughter so they won't be counted on the side of the corporations and the government which kill for profit and export the skins," she said.

Byrne made no apologies for PETA's use of the inuksuk in its campaign, adding the commercial seal hunt brings shame to all of Canada.

"The Canadian government tries to hide behind native people in an attempt to justify the commercial seal slaughter, but it's very dishonest to tie the two together," she said.

Sue Idlout of Iqaluit said PETA needs to get its facts straight if it's going to launch a campaign against sealing.

"How can you try and go against something when you don't have the true facts," said Idlout.

Idlout said she believes the campaign is racist and by using an inuksuk wielding a hakapik in its campaign, PETA is linking the Inuit to the commercial seal hunt on the East coast.

"We've hunted for so many years, but we've always showed respect for them (the seals)," she said.

"We need them (the seals) to survive, to have food to eat and clothes to wear."

Idlout also said Inuit hunters kill and skin seals swiftly and humanely to preserve the taste of the meat.

"Real hunters know that," she said.

Idlout has started an e-mail campaign herself, urging Inuit to speak out against PETA.

Both Canada's commercial seal hunt and its non-commercial seal hunt are monitored by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

This year, the harp seal quota for the commercial hunt was set at 273,000. Commercial hunters are from Canada's maritime provinces, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The non-commercial hunt is carried out by Northern hunters.

In 2006, the commercial hunt allocation was 325,000, compared to the 10,000 seals killed for non-commercial use.