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Ghost net warning after seal found dead in Cornwall

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The seal was spotted tangled in a lost fishing net, also known as ghost nets

Campaigners are warning about the dangers of abandoned and lost fishing nets after a seal was found dead.

Cornwall Wildlife Trust retrieved the body of the seal, which had been caught up in the disused netting in west Cornwall on Thursday.

The wildlife trust urged anyone who spotted animals, dead or alive, caught in so-called ghost nets, to call it in.

Charity Ghost Fishing UK said the nets were a "huge issue".

It confirmed they would be recycling the net.

large fishing device
The net was cut up and brought back to shore to be recycled

Andy Cowie, from the wildlife trust, said a volunteer found the seal with "a lot of ghost netting wrapped around it".

"Although [the seal] is dead, there is a lot of vital information we can find out and we can record it," he said.

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