On Friday, 15 December a member of the public found a small moulted grey seal pup on the side of the road at Hoxa in Orkney and picked up the seal and placed her in the boot of her car! Although this was done with good intentions, BDMLR does not, and would never, advise doing this. Not only for the welfare of the seal, but also for the welfare of members of the public. Seals can give a nasty bite!
Orkney Seal Rescue (who were unable to take custody of the seal due to personal circumstances) instructed the member of the public to take the seal to the vets and on their assessment found ‘Boots’ (named after her unusual method of transport to the vets) in a poor condition, with some sustained injuries. It was clear Boots would not survive on her own so was cared for over the weekend by BDMLR Orkney Medics until the NorthLink ferry sailing to Shetland the following day where she was transferred to Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary for rehabilitation. Boots is now settling into to her new interim home before her eventual release back into the wild when she is of suitable weight and has learned the life skills needed to be a seal!
A special thanks must go out to the following who have given their time, expertise, and support to ensure that seal pups on Orkney needing help on their journey to recovery get the best chance they can. Thank you to Flett and Carmichael Vets, Redland Farm (Orkney’s newest Seal Care Facility), EMEC (For providing our seal rescue crate), NorthLink Ferries, and Orkney Seal Rescue.
