What to do if you see a seal
Please always follow best practice, stay calm and quiet, keep at least 100m away, and move off any beach with a seal resting on it. If a seal is close inshore, be aware it might just want to haul out and rest, so please give it space. Enjoy this wonderful wildlife spectacle!
Please be aware that all the following actions will require you to describe your location as accurately as possible. Please consider using what3words.com.
In Cornwall:
Please email sightings to: sightings@sealresearchtrust.com with the date, location, number of seals on land, and number of seals in the sea. If you can take a photo without getting closer than 100m, please send that as well.
For the rest of the UK:
Please fill in the contact form here: www.sealalliance.org/contact
Seen a seal:
Call Cornwall’s Marine and Coastal Wildlife Code Hotline on 0345 201 2626
UK: email info@operationseabird.org
Seen seals being disturbed:
Seen a seal who is in a public place where the seal can easily be disturbed by people, has obvious injuries or entanglement, is in immediate danger, or is a white coated pup with no apparent mum visible on land or resting in the sea?
Ring British Divers Marine Life Rescue: 01825 765546.
Concerned about a seal:
Seen a dead seal (or other marine wildlife):
Seal bite:
Call Cornwall Wildlife Trust Marine Strandings Network Hotline on 0345 201 2626
UK: Call 0800 652 0333
If you, or someone you are with, has been bitten by a seal, then please seek medical advice as soon as possible and contact the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) Hotline - 01825 765546 for further advice.
Seals carry a variety of germs, some of which are very dangerous, so do not delay in seeking medical treatment.
