Seal Appeal

We are appealing for donations to help us rehabilitate seal pups that have been found abandoned or ill around the Manx coast! We have a dedicated band of volunteers but we need the resources to support their work.

We do not normally get involved with the welfare of individual animals and it is not very often that we appeal to the public for funding like this. However, there is currently only very limited provision for the rehabilitation of seal pups on Island and we have been compelled to take action. So we need your help!

At this time of year, pups and juvenile Atlantic grey seals will haul up on beaches to rest, especially in stormy conditions.

They don’t always choose the best places to rest, often very public beaches with lots of people and dogs, but when they are tired they just need to rest.

MWT have a group of volunteers, known as seal sitters, who will sit and monitor the seals to ensure they are healthy and don’t need any intervention. They will then ensure the seals are kept safe from disturbance.

Seal Rehab — One of the seal pups in rehabilitation so far this year.

Should intervention be necessary, and this is the last resort, trained volunteers and MWT/ManxSPCA staff will remove the seal and take it to Ann, our volunteer, for treatment and rehabilitation before being released back into the wild.

As you can imagine this is an expensive job and we are in need of some support to cover the costs needed to look after these individuals.

Fish alone for one seal costs over £40 a week!

What we need

Listed are just some of the things we need to be able to look after and rehabilitate seal pups -

Teats, tubes and bottles - £50-100 per year

Fish - £40 per seal, per week (some pups can be in care for 6/7 weeks)

Heat lamp - £100 for two lamps, essential to keep weaker pups warm

Fish oil - £50 per year

Crate to safely transport seal pups- £50

Yard brush for cleaning out their pens - £20

Hosepipe with reel - £50

Stainless steel table - £150

To be able to look after seals, specialist training is required for us and the vets. This requires us to bring over specialist experts from the UK, increasing the cost of the course, to include flights and accommodation, to - £800 + £90 per person on the course.

What can you do?

Donate - Donations, no matter what size, enable us to look after these pups and young seals. It currently costs around £4,000 a year (depending on the number of pups and juveniles needing care). We would also like to improve the seal rehabilitation facilities, this would include constructing a custom built shed and pond, which would enable the seals to transition better back into the wild.

Volunteer - Join our volunteer team! We run 'seal sitter' training and marine mammal stranding (recording of deceased marine mammals) a couple of times a year. The next training sessions are:

Seal sitting - 16^th November at 7pm at MWT office.

Dead marine strandings - 23^rd November at 7pm at MWT office.

Please email MWT Marine Officer, Dr Lara Howe, for more information.

Educate - When you see a seal pup hauled up on a beach it is more than likely they will just need a rest, especially after bad weather. This is very normal. What the seals need is to be left well alone so they can rest. Young pups that are white and not yet weaned will be being watched by mum, and human interference can cause mum to abandon the pup, in which case the pup will not survive. If you are concerned about a seal you can contact us (call us on 568726, 450879 or 844432 during office hours, or send us a Facebook message) and one of our seal sitters will go and assess the seal and put up signage to let the public know to stay away. One of the best things you can do is spread this knowledge which will help to protect the pups!

Offer your services - are you a construction business, builder or landscape gardener that could help us to build a rehabilitation shed and pond? If you think you could help us make this dream a reality please contact our Marine Officer, Dr Lara Howe, to discuss what we need.