Suffering of the seal caught in a tide of plastic litter
ITS fur and flesh sliced away by the netting caught around its neck, this young grey seal is the latest victim of the rubbish littering our oceans.
The stricken creature was left with a deep wound more than an inch wide all around its head after being caught in the garrotte-like nylon net.
Luckily the seal was spotted by a wildlife rescue group, who were able to cut away the netting.
But many others are not so fortunate, with conservationists warning that scores of other creatures have died as a result of discarded netting. The seal’s ordeal ended when it was spotted at a remote West Cornish cove by seal researchers Sue Sayer and Kate Hockley. especially across the back of its
A team of experts from Cornish neck, but now the line has been Wildlife abseiled down a steep removed the saltwater should cliff to gain access to the spot. keep it clean and we are confiThey managed to calm the dent it will heal.’ injured seal before cutting away The group said the incident the netting and cleaning the highlighted the hazard that disdeep wound. It was then safe to carded netting poses to wildlife. release the seal into the sea. Miss Sayer said: ‘The Cornwall
Tamara Cooper, curator at the Seal Group Research Trust has Cornish Seal Sanctuary, worked recorded 300 net- entangled with the Cornish Wildlife team, seals in the last 18 years. including volunteer Dan Jarvis, ‘ Many have not been as and the researchers on the reslucky as this latest victim, and cue. ‘It struggled a lot at first, many have undoubtedly died as but by straddling its back and a result.’ covering its head with a towel I While on the beach, the team was able to quieten it down also found a large number of while Dan and Sue carefully cut plastic bottles and discarded litaway the netting,’ she said. ter. Plastic from bottles is said
‘The wound was very deep, to be responsible for one-third of the total found on beaches or in the seas, where it is eaten by fish and ends up on our plates.
Bottle recycling efforts in Britain have stalled and an astonishing 15-16million are now thought to be thrown away every day.
The Daily Mail has called for a crackdown on the tide of plastic bottles polluting Britain, with our Banish the Bottles campaign encouraging the introduction of a deposit return scheme.
Study groups have argued that a deposit scheme would be the most effective way to tackle ocean pollution. The Green Alliance says introducing such a system in the UK could ensure 95 per cent of plastic bottles are collected and recycled.