RSPCA appeals for salt to help treat injured seals

A RSPCA wildlife centre has appealed for donations of salt after staff used three tonnes in a single weekend to treat injured seals.

East Winch Wildlife Centre in Norfolk said staff were caring for six entangled seals which had been rescued from beaches across Norfolk and Suffolk.

The seals, which included young pups, suffered deep wounds caused by marine litter such as discarded fishing lines, plastic and rope.

Saltwater baths help infected wounds, the centre said, but with an increased number of seals needing treatment supplies had run low.

The seals named Buffalo, Bonobo, Honey Badger, Pit Viper, Seal and Toucan have been treated with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories alongside the salt water floats.

The charity said it was treating a higher number of injured seals compared to this time last year, as the six seals were being cared for alongside 30 others at the centre.

A tonne of salt is used by the charity every few days to provide treatment for the animals, it said.

Evangelos Achilleos, the wildlife centre's manager, said: "It is really heartbreaking that it's still only early in the year and we've already had so many seals come in with entanglements."

"What is a concern, is that a lot of the seals coming in now with entanglements are just pups," he added.

One seal who arrived in February, Griffin Vulture, has already recovered and has been successfully released back into the wild.

The animals that are rescued typically arrive at the centre underweight and exhausted, the centre said.

Depending on the severity of the injury, the rehabilitation period can take months and cost up to thousands of pounds per seal.

The centre has appealed for donations of salt via its Amazon wishlist.

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