A seal was found dead and washed ashore at the Trebarwith Strand in Cornwall, England on Monday, May 27.
Experts believe the poor animal might have suffered “a prolonged, tortured death,” after being entangled in 35 kilograms of pollution. The weight of the marine litter would have strained the seal from diving or swimming.
“This is one of the worst cases of entanglement we have seen everywhere in the world due to the extreme nature of his injuries,” Michelle Robinson-Clement, a volunteer from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, said.
James Barnett from the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme added that “this is probably the most serious net-related injury I have seen in 27 years of working with seals and the level of suffering this animal must have gone through is truly appalling.”
Post-mortem examination shows that the weight of the net made a large wound between the seal’s head and shoulders, which added pain to the animal.
Experts and environmentalists continue to call on the community to work hand in hand into lessening plastic and other waste pollution, to create a better and safer world for all.
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