On 10 – 12 June, the annual Seal Rescue Conference was hosted in Cornwall jointly by British Divers Marine Life Rescue, Cornish Seal Sanctuary and the Seal Research Trust.
The conference began in 2018, following a winter of extreme weather events and unprecedented mass casualty incidents, whereby rescue and rehabilitation organisations could come together to share protocols and new techniques, discuss common issues and collaborate on conservation actions and research. Co-chaired by representatives from BDMLR, Zeehondencentrum Pieterburen and the University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, organisations from across Europe are invited to participate, with a new host organisation each year.
Based at the beautiful Oceanside Hotel in Newquay, the function room was transformed into a conference and display space with many educational resources, research posters, leaflets and the amazing skeleton of adult male grey seal ‘Septimus’ as its centrepiece. Over the course of the three days more than 50 in-person and a further 16 online attendees representing 24 organisations and six countries were able to partake in 21 presentations, six short films and two discussion sessions. Topics included local conservation network collaborations, seal haul out site management, hospitalisation trends, respiratory parasites, whisker function, a new national seal release protocol for the UK, post-release monitoring and pathology.
Attendees were also treated to three excursions, visiting the facilities of both the BDMLR Cornwall Seal Hospital and Cornish Seal Sanctuary for guided tours, as well as a walk and talk to a local seal haul out site too. These also provided ample opportunity for networking between the different groups and deeper discussions into particular subjects too. BDMLR were well represented with staff members Julia, Natalie, Dan, Em and Lewis, plus Area Coordinators Debbie, Darren and Chris, and some of the Assistant ACs for Cornwall too.
We are very proud to have hosted our first international in-person conference, and look forward to next year’s event, which will be held at the brand-new facilities of Zeehondencentrum Pieterburen at Lauwersoog in the Netherlands!
