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The Humane Society of the United States, which sponsored the boycott, said Mr. Bourdain was spreading misinformation.

“The Chefs for Seals campaign does not target the subsistence hunting of native and local peoples,” said Kathryn Kullberg, the director wildlife protection. “It’s targeted specifically at seals that are harvested for the fashion industry.”

So far, 6,500 restaurants, grocery stores and outlets had agreed to the boycott of Canadian seafood, she said. A further 800,000 individuals had also signed a pledge in support of the program.

The organization also highlighted 42 chefs who agreed to the boycott had also recently been among those top chefs named in a high profile magazine.

Ms. Kullberg said the Humane Society decided to target Canada’s seafood industry because the same boats that killed seals were also used to fish.

“Each spring on the East Coast of Canada, 10,000 seals are shot and clubbed to death,” she said, including pups who have “not even eaten their first solid meal.”

According to a website maintained by the Government of Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the commercial seal hunt has been in rapid decline since 2008.

In 2012, almost 70,000 harp seals were killed for commercial purposes, an increase from the year previous, but a major decline from the 355,000 seals harvested in 2006. Pelt prices dropped significantly after both Russia and the EU banned imported pelts.

Meanwhile, the seal population is believed close to recent highs; the numbers are so healthy, in fact, that fisheries officials have said they fear the impact on valuable cod stocks.