Seal pups trapped in fishing nets cut free by South Africa beachgoers

This is the moment two seal pups tangled up in a fishing net were rescued on a South African beach.

Members of the public at West Coast National Park cut through the nets, which allowed the seals to go back into the sea.

A private guide and filmmaker captured the moment on camera, sharing the rescue on social media.

"It was a very tangible reminder of how important it is to educate ourselves, clean up our beaches and work to ensure plastics and things like this are not in our oceans," James Suter wrote of the incident in a post accompanying the video on Instagram.

A third seal was also rescued off camera, his post said.

20 September 2023