Hattie the seal put down after two years entangled in net

A seal which had been entangled in a net for more than two years has had to be put down, its rescuers have said.

The seal, later named Hattie, was rescued in April near Lands End, Cornwall, after becoming wedged between boulders.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) Seal Pup Hospital said on Facebook the decision was taken after she "rapidly deteriorated".

Tests revealed what was thought to be "major organ dysfunction", it added.

Hattie was rescued at Gwynver beach on 28 April by the Land's End Coastguard Rescue Team and charity volunteers after she got wedged and was facing drowning in a high tide.

Conservationists had spent more than two years trying to capture her after spotting her entangled in fishing wire.

The seal hospital said on Saturday the "very sad" decision to put her down was taken after Hattie began "showing signs of a more complex, underlying illness going on".

It said: "Some blood tests revealed that she was likely to be suffering from some major organ dysfunction.

"Hattie's quality of life was declining, and her chances of recovery from such a major illness and eventual release back into the wild were extremely slim."

It added: "We are comforted at least by the fact that her final days were in an environment where she was safe and well cared for.

"She was a very special seal, and one which I'm sure we will all remember."

Hattie had already been identified as suffering a "horrendous" neck wound that was 4cm (1.5in) deep from the discarded "ghost net".

She was believed to be a five-year-old female spotted by Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust in December 2018 with the fishing wire and netting stuck around her neck.

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