Desperate search for seal pup facing slow death by strangulation

A CORNWALL-based charity has shared a picture of a seal pup entangled in plastic to raise awareness of the threat to wildlife posed by discarded rubbish.

Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust is now working to save the pup before it strangles itself to death.

A spokesman for the charity said: “This is the worst possible thing to see while out on a survey. It is always awful to see an entangled seal but sometimes you can be comforted that the seal has little growing to do, but not in this case.

“This is a pup from this year with a lot of growing to do and is tangled in a monofilament net.

“Unfortunately on this occasion rescue was not possible. However, we will be doing all we can to work with the medics at British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) to monitor and hopefully rescue this animal before this entanglement becomes lethal to this poor young seal.

“Our volunteers will be out looking for this seal pup, but you can do your bit too.

“Beach cleans and picking up litter/looped items anytime you are at the beach plays a huge role in keeping our oceans clean and preventing awful situations like this from happening in the future.”