Six seals at Horsey have rings or net stuck around neck, say environmental group

A seal being caught in a net by two men on Horsey beach
A bull seal became the latest to be caught with something stuck round its neck on Saturday Credit: Friends of Horsey Seals

Friends of Horsey Seals (FoHS) have revealed there are currently six seals with either plastic rings or netting stuck around their neck.

Over the past three years there have been dozens of examples of seals sustaining serious injuries from getting objects around their necks off the Norfolk coast.

The latest of the colony to be rescued was an adult male on Saturday, 5 September. He was captured by the specialist rescue team from FoHS and had a thick rubber belt removed from around his neck.

In this case it had not resulted in injury and the male was able to swim away.

The rubber ring removed from the male seal's neck Credit: Friends of Horsey Seals

But a statement released by FoHS revealed the true extent of the problem: "We now have six seals at Horsey with fishing net entanglement or toy flying rings round their necks and we hope to carry out further rescues when the time and tides are right.

"It’s a growing problem that doesn’t seem to be going away."

'Flowerpot' sustained deep neck wounds after getting caught in a flowerpot in October 2019 Credit: RSPCA

In 2019, FoHS launched a campaign urging people not to bring flying rings to the beach; it was supported by many local businesses who stopped selling the toys.

The charity also unveiled a sculpture this year to highlight the danger the rings pose to seals.