The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Fears over stranded seal pups
Wildlife: Charity raises concerns ahead of possible bad weather over winter
Seal pups could be left stranded on Britain’s coastline in record numbers if bad weather hits in the coming months, the RSPCA has warned.
The animal welfare charity said its resources are stretched and an increased intake in pups “would start to cause real problems” for its centres. There are currently 65 seals of varying ages in RSPCA care.
One centre, in East Winch, Norfolk, was inundated last December when a tidal surge left 108 pups injured or stranded on the Norfolk coast which were taken into its care. The RSPCA said: “We’re expecting there to be problems down the line as we’ll start to fill up.”
The grey seal pupping season starts from October, andtheRSCPAexpects that they will have to care for orphaned pups “any time now”. In the past, bad weather has put the charity under strain after collecting pups.
The pups, which are mainly under a year and juveniles, get into trouble during periods of bad weather and become separated from their mothers.
They feed on their mothers’ milkandrelyheavilyon this to build up their fat reserves, and cannot survive during the early stages of life without this because they can’t swim.
The RSPCA said: “It’s a really crucial point. Last year we had to tube-feed themmilk. Whentheyhave a fat reserve, they can start fending for themselves.”
The cost of caring for the animals is £22 per week and each pup is kept by the RSPCA for an average of five months.
A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said: “There’s a lot of care that staff give them and making sure their weight is OK is really important before releasing them into the wild. In Norfolk in particular there are seal colonies and we put them back into ( these) colonies.
“Our centres only have a certain amount of room and it takes up a lot of staff
“Our centres only have a certain amount of room”
time. One centre can only hold eight pups. This is the situation we faced last year when we had amassive influx. At the moment it’s fine, but last year because seals need specific cubicles with water and correct insulation etc, and because there were so many, the swans had to be moved to makeshift pens in the operating theatre and hedgehogs were moved too.”