A young seal pup has died after a suspected dog attack on a north Norfolk beach on Monday.
The female seal pup, thought to be just a week old, was taken into the care of the RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre on Monday (November 28), after being rescued by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue from Holkham.
The pup, who weighed 12.1kg, had puncture wounds on its face, head and flippers. X-ray images showed a fractured jaw.
After discovering the extent of the pup's injuries, the centre decided the kindest thing was to put the seal to sleep.
The RSPCA suspect the attack was caused by a dog, due to the number of shoe prints around where the seal was found.
Following the incident, the RSPCA has warned dog owners to keep their pets on leads around seals on Norfolk beaches, stressing the importance of not getting close to the wild animals.
Evangelos Achilleos, manager of RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre, said: "While we cannot be certain as to what attacked this poor pup, it looks possible that this may well have been as a result of a dog attack.
"Over the last few years sadly we have found that we have had more pups coming into our care due to dogs attacking them.
"This poor pup’s jaw was so fractured it was not aligning, meaning her injuries were so bad that the kindest thing we could do was to put her to sleep to prevent her suffering further.
"These types of incidents are a concern especially as they could be easily prevented by the public keeping their dogs on leads when around seals and not allowing them to get too close.
"We know that many dog owners do keep their dogs on a lead and we are very grateful to them, but we hope that by highlighting this sad incident it will help to educate others.
"We know that seals in the wild are an incredible sight to see and people want to get a good view, but please remember they are wild animals who do not want to be close to humans.
"We share our beaches with seals and must learn to respect nature and enjoy from a distance, and we should never interfere or get too close to them, and especially if we have our dogs with us.
"The public are putting themselves, their dogs and the seals at risk. Adult seals are incredibly powerful wild animals and can give people - including children - a very nasty bite which could become infected by the bacteria that live in a seal’s mouth.
"We hope we can spread the message encouraging dog owners to keep their dog on a lead if wildlife is nearby. And please help the seals by staying away from them.”
If you are concerned about a seal, observe from a distance and keep dogs on a lead.
Never return the seal to the water yourself. Contact the RSPCA for advice on 0300 1234 999.
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