There was some talk of a sportsman’s badge being earned by the person
who had killed a seal, a stag, and a golden eagle. The former is very
easy to kill, but very difficult to bag. It must be shot absolutely dead
instantaneously, or it struggles into the water and there sinks. It has
to be caught when basking on the rocks or sands, and this generally
means shooting from a boat in a sea which will not be still, so that the
chances of a brain shot are not great. To shoot seals when they come up
to have a look at a passing boat is to wound them generally, but if they
are killed they sink. Possibly the only advantage of shooting seals is
to save some fish. The salmon waiting to run up rivers are made to
suffer greatly very often. The seal of our coasts is not the fur seal,
and has little value when shot.