Green Peace came to world notice by re-releasing a film of a juvenile harp seal being skinned alive. It worked, catapulting Green Peace from a Norway garret to 4.5 megabucks in one year.
The original was a well known fraud - sealers always kill the seals with a hackapic which is a tool designed specifically for killing seals.
Any attempt to skin a live seal could easily result in amputation of the skinner’s hand by the teeth of the baby seal.
To kill them, I'd grab their hind legs and their heads, stretch them out, bend their heads back to stun them, then break their necks by whacking them with a hammer handle. After killing them, I'd hang them up with a hook between bone and tendon in a back leg. Unfortunately I didn't always get a clean kill. Several times I had rabbits that revived while I was hanging them up. They'd shriek and kick in a way that would rip you open if you got too close. The shrieking was really unnerving. After all, I didn't want to hurt them. I just wanted to kill them. I'd have to grab both hind legs and whack them again with the hammer handle. After they were definitely dead, I cut off their heads, let them bleed out, then skinned them. I can't imagine anyone managing to skin a living animal. I just don't see it as possible.
Q) What is a baby harp seal’s favorite drink?
A) Canadian Club on the rocks.