Today is World Oceans Day, and this year we want to raise awareness of climate change and its impact on seals, and how you can help us in our heart-wrenching battle against it.
In recent years our vulnerable coastal and marine wildlife has suffered from an increasing number of severe storms, which have been made more likely and more intense by the negative effects of global human activity on the environment. Without a meaningful global change in government policies and actions to reduce and prevent our impact on the world, this situation will only continue to get worse.
We at BDMLR see the impact of climate change first-hand, through the high volume of calls we receive to our hotline in the aftermath of increasing extreme events. This puts a great deal of pressure on our amazing volunteer Medics in the affected areas as injured, exhausted seals and pups separated from their mothers are scattered across the shore and need our help.
It also overwhelms the national rehabilitation centre network, which has a limited capacity and often cannot cope with large casualty events as all the spaces in them are quickly filled across the whole country. We are very fortunate to have been able to set up temporary seal holding units at strategic locations in the worst-affected areas, with skilled volunteers and veterinarians caring for as many patients as they can until a space in a full facility becomes available for them to move on to.
As we come into the common seal pupping season now, our volunteers are preparing both mentally and physically for another busy summer. You can help us get ready together by donating to our seal pup fundraiser to cover vet bills and fuel costs for our Medics here 👉 www.justgiving.com/campaign/commonsealpups2024
We are very grateful for any support we receive, and in sharing our message on what to do if you find a seal here.