A MARINE life rescue group is heading into a “difficult” season of caring for washed-up seal pups following the temporary closure of their rehabilitation site in Guernsey.
Donna Gicquel-de Gruchy, British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) co-ordinator for the Channel Islands since 2008, said she was in “desperate talks” to find a solution to this season’s hurdles.
Like many local charities, the Channel Islands BDMLR team is feeling the pinch as costs for the veterinary hospital which triages the pups rise and the number of calls for help increases.
“The pressure is on again for another season to try to assist the orphaned or sick grey seal pups,” the charity said in a statement.
For 20 years, the volunteer group has been responding to marine mammal emergencies on Jersey’s beaches alongside New Era Veterinary Hospital, especially during seal pup season, which runs from October to January.
The Guernsey GSPCA have been “at the end of the phone call” for 18 years, the charity said, and with the help of local companies and private pilots, the group have always been able to send them to Guernsey for rehabilitation and local release. However, this season will be different.
A statement from the charity said: “The GSPCA is closed to seals this year and, with only the New Era team for triage, the local group are headed for a difficult season, with nowhere to rehabilitate pups in the Island. Jersey has no facilities to help us here and without anywhere to send them, the future looks grim.”
Occasionally, the charity has sent them to the UK when the GSPCA has not been able to help, but in the coming months, spaces in the UK for seal pups will also be limited.
Mrs Gicquel-de Gruchy said: “We are hopeful we will find spaces in the UK if any seals do need to be rehabilitated this season, and we are in desperate talks to try to find a more suitable solution to this year’s hurdles, hopefully a little closer to home.”
