McCartneys risked charges with Canada seal hunt protest

MAGDALEN ISLANDS, Canada (AFP) — Sir Paul McCartney risked prosecution by cuddling a white baby seal on an ice floe to protest Canada's annual seal hunt, officials told AFP.

Fisheries officials said they had considered prosecuting the former Beatle and his wife Heather, as well as trip organizers the US Humane Society, with interfering with a marine mammal.

Authorities are anxious not to fuel controversy over this year's upcoming hunt however.

"It was not an overly serious violation," Canadian fisheries spokesperson Phil Jenkins said. "There was just one pup involved and there was no serious disruption of the herd."

"If we sensed they were going too far, we'd act. But, we're not going to follow up on this," he said.

The McCartneys arrived with two dozen reporters in four helicopters on the ice floe Thursday off the coast of the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of ...