Third seal falls victim to plastic frisbee off Norfolk

The seal could only be approached once he had weakened and is in a poor condition Credit: RSPCA

A third seal with a plastic frisbee round its neck has been rescued from a Norfolk beach.

The seal, was caught on Horsey Beach in Norfolk yesterday in a joint rescue operation between local charities Friends of Horsey Seals and Marine and Wildlife Rescue.

The large adult male grey seal, named Sir David by staff, was taken to the RSPCA’s East Winch Wildlife Centre where a team battled to remove the yellow plastic frisbee, which was deeply embedded in his neck, causing a severe wound which was infected and covered with blood.

The incident echoes two very similar rescues of other seals who both had frisbees embedded in their neck.

One of those seals, called Pinkafo, was rescued in December and she is still recovering at the East Winch Wildlife Centre.

And in September 2017, another grey seal, later dubbed Mrs Frisbee, was also rescued and admitted to RSPCA East Winch with a yellow plastic frisbee cutting deeply into her neck.

The latest seal had been previously spotted on the coastline, but rescuers were only able to get close to him when he weakened.

Fortunately he was spotted yesterday and the rescuers were able to sneak up behind him and get a net around him, before he raced back to the sea.

The frisbee had to be cut free from the seal's neck Credit: RSPCA

The RSPCA says this seal is in a worse condition than the previous two and may not survive.