Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff gives a thumbs up while eating a seal meat appetizer during an event to mark the first time seal meat is served in the parliamentary restaurant on Parliament Hill in Ottawa March 10, 2010. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

OTTAWA — Seal meat tastes "meaty," "gamey" and "strong," according to Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.

But it also "tastes good."

Ignatieff and many other politicians sampled seal flesh Wednesday in the posh Parliamentary Restaurant to show support for the Canadian seal hunt, which is about to open on the East Coast.

Hosted by Liberal Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette, the lunch included seal loin wrapped in smoked bacon and was attended by about 30 people, including Fisheries and Oceans Minister Gail Shea and all of the opposition party critics.

Ignatieff and many others who weren’t invited to the lunch enjoyed the seal sausage hors d'oevres amid a throng of media.

"This is a symbolic way of saying, 'we're behind you,'" Ignatieff said about the luncheon and the seal hunters.

"We, as Parliamentarians of whatever political party … we have to stand up to say these are good people," he said. "This is about supporting a traditional way of life."

Hervieux-Payette, who has been on a seal hunt before and is a champion of the industry, said it was important for Wednesday's lunch to include members from all political parties, "to give a very strong message that the parliamentarians of Canada are standing behind all of these courageous and hard working people."

When asked why it was always the opposition parties who organized the high-profile events in support of the seal industry, Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said the government has been busy working behind the scenes with sealers to diversify the products from the hunt, which now include fur, meat, and seal oil which is high in omega-3 fatty acids.

"No longer are we just selling the pelts of seals, we're selling a number of other products, so we are very busy working on this issue to try to ensure that sealers can make a living from this industry," she said.

Also, the government is in the process of challenging the European Union's decision to ban the import of Canadian seal products at the World Trade Organization.

But the Conservatives aren't totally without media coverage when it comes to the seal hunt, Shea added.

"I actually think taking a pie in the face probably caught a lot of peoples' attention," Shea laughed, referring to an incident in Burlington, Ont., earlier this year when she was hit in the face with a white cream pie by a 37-year-old New York animal rights activist who opposed the hunt.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, who is Inuit and represents Nunavut, joked Wednesday that she would have stayed for the lunch if the seal was served "raw."

But just as politicians of all stripes were feasting on seal meat together, animal rights activists — dressed as snowmen — were protesting the hunt outside on Parliament Hill.