The Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre is raising awareness as seals are being targeted on Cape Town beaches; they hope to get people talking so things can change.
Hout Bay, South Africa (15 December 2021) – The Seal Rescue Centre in Hout Bay has been working non-stop to help free seals entangled in ropes, injured by pollution or other painful ailments. The ocean has been filled with litter and pollution due to the lockdown and loss of beach clean-ups which has meant more seals needing help than ever before. Not to mention a spike in seal pups being found dead along the beach.
The Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre was founded in 1999 by Francois Hugo. Since his passing, volunteers have taken over and run the organisation 24 hours a day, seven days a week! They rescue injured, sick and orphaned seals.
“Our mission is to intervene when seals are in distress.
We rescue injured, sick or orphaned seals and then rehabilitate and return them to their natural environment within the Cape Peninsula Metropolitan Region.
The centre responds to all cases reported.
Our volunteers are on standby 24 hours a day to immediately respond to calls of seals in distress.”
Sadly, they have seen a rise of seal pup deaths by human means (meaning clubbing, shootings and stabbings) of late and have had to bring the SPCA in for help to get the City of Cape Town aware of the problem. It is gruesome to witness, but with awareness raised and funds collected, they will be able to do more.
You can support the team via their BackaBuddy fund here.
If you do happen to find a seal, this is how to handle the situation.
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