Early last month Canada announced it was authorizing the cull, saying the local seal population was now abundant and healthy.

Bardot, who is president of her own animal rights foundation, expressed outrage at WWF's "scandalous position" in support of the Canadian seal cull quota.

"I feel betrayed, it has attacked my most symbolic battle," Bardot lamented in a letter made public Monday.

The WWF said in response that it "is not, and never has been, opposed to the annual harvest of harp seals off the east coast of Canada" as long as it came within a conservation regime.

"Marine conservation is a top priority for WWF," the organization added.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare, meanwhile, a global umbrella group comprising around 300 animal protection organizations, also slammed Ottawa's move, calling the seal cull an "abhorrent practice".

The population of harp seals in the North Atlantic is at around 5.2 million, compared with 1.8 million in 1970, according to recent research.

TERRA.WIRE