Canadian Atlantic village seeks help with invasion of seals

A Canadian Atlantic coast village is asking the federal fisheries department for help to get rid of some 40 stranded seals who wreaking havoc, by blocking roads and doors to homes and businesses.

The animals became stuck in the town of Roddickton-Bide Arm, in the province of Newfoundland after nearby waters suddenly froze over nearly a week ago, preventing their return to the ocean.

Because it is illegal to interfere with marine mammals under Canadian law, it has led to some awkward face offs with the unyielding seals. They also bite.

Two have been accidentally struck by cars at night, and several townsfolk have expressed concerns that the chubby, big-eyed beasts may soon starve without access to food.

“We’re seeing them more lethargic, they’re not moving as fast,” Roddickton-Bide Arm mayor Sheila Fitzgerald told The Northern Pen newspaper. “It’s really disheartening for people to watch these animals suffer.”

The Roddickton-Bide Arm town council raised the issue at a regular municipal meeting Tuesday night, and resolved to ask the Department of Fisheries and Ocean to intervene.

“They’ve been saying let nature take its course, but it’s been almost a week,” Fitzgerald said. “If they could find their way out, they would have found their way already.”