Seal with fishing net embedded around neck freed

A seal with part of a fishing net deeply embedded around its neck has been rescued.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said team members had seen the adult female seal on beaches in north Cornwall since Christmas.

The first two times the team attempted to rescue Nanette, as they named her, members of the public spooked her back into the sea.

The third attempt was successful with members of the BDMLR, the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust and a vet carefully cutting and removing the plastic netting.

Warning, this article contains a graphic image of an injured seal

Dan Jarvis from BDMLR said: "It's not something we've dealt with hands-on before.

"The monofilament net was so deep the wound had actually grown over the top of it, so it was embedded within her neck."

This made disentangling the seal more difficult, he explained, as the knots of the net could not be pulled through cleanly.

The team decided to cut each knot and remove each loose strand in sequence to make sure they removed all of the netting.

After a health check, Nanette was released, with no net remaining.

The team used a cargo net to immobilise Nanette before restraining her with a specialist stretcher.

Mr Jarvis said: "Being a big adult female, they're far more challenging for us as rescues to deal with - they're a lot stronger than the pups we're used to."

"She was quite cross and feisty, but that was a good sign," he added.

Mr Jarvis urged people to stay away while wildlife rescues were taking place.

By ignoring signs and advice from a volunteer, noise from members of the public meant the earlier rescue attempts failed.

"This prolonged the time Nanette was in pain," he said.

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