A team of medics tending to a seal have been verbally abused in Northumberland.
The team were tending to a seal that had been chased by an out-of-control dog at Druridge Bay when they were faced with abusive language by the same people who were allegedly abusing the seal. It is part of a wider spate of incidents across the UK according to wildlife charity British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR).
The charity also received reports of violence against deals in Essex, Norfolk, Kent and Yorkshire. On Good Friday, there were five incidents reported to BDMLR before lunch time, the most it has ever had in such a short space of time.
During the spring, there are often young seals on beaches, only recently independent of their mothers, who may be more vulnerable. Seals need to rest on land to digest, socialise and feed their pups.
However, some may be sick, injured and/or weak and are less able to escape or defend themselves. But that hasn't deterred people from abusing the animals, with police receiving reports of young people throwing stones at a seal at Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex.
A post on the BDMLR Facebook page said cases across the country included seals being repeatedly kicked and chased into the sea by both dogs and people all along the east coast of England up to Northumberland.
One responder on Facebook said they had witnessed a dog attack a seal at Low Hauxley beach, with the owner unable to get control of their pet. Fortunately, the seal managed to escape into the sea.
Dan Jarvis, director of welfare and conservation at BDMLR, said: "It's hard to say why some people think it is OK to stone seals, drag them around by their flippers or intentionally set their dogs on them. Clearly they do not care about the welfare of the animal and only what they can get out of doing such cruel actions.
"Some of these seal pups have actually already been weak, sick or injured and have been less able to defend themselves or escape back into the sea, which makes these attacks doubly harrowing to hear about and deal with for our team."
The BDMLR encourages anyone who witnesses attacks on seals or other wildlife to report them to the Police on 999 in an emergency or otherwise on the non-emergency number 101.
