‘She’s been suffering for weeks’: Young harbour seal recovering after being shot in the face

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A young harbour seal has been left nearly blind after she was shot in the face by birdshot.

The Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre says the female seal is believed to be less than a year old.

She was found on Feb. 18 on Kits beach. The Aquarium says she was emaciated and lethargic when she was rescued.

“If left on the beach, she would have passed away. She was able to forage for herself, was in a lot of discomfort and pain. It would have been a slow, painful death,” said Dr. Martin Haulena, head verterinarian with the Vancouver Aquarium.

The wounds are now healing over the 23 birdshot pellets embedded in her face.

“We have no way of knowing who did this,” Haulena said. “I can tell you that she’s been suffering for several weeks, and we don’t know if she’s going to recover her eyesight enough to be released.”

Haulena worries the incident is part of a growing trend of fishers protecting their hauls.

“We see way too many animals that have been shot. From an animal welfare perspective, we see the animals that have not died due to gunshot immediately. We’re worried that’s going to keep going and increase — and not be for any good reason whatsoever.”

He says harbour seals do not go after animals on fishing lines or in nets. “It’s more of a sea lion habit and a killer whale habit.”

“Certainly, we encourage people not to be cleaning their fish and feeding the remnants to sea lions. We see a lot of that in different communities. That gets animals attracted to fishing boats, with some associating fishing boats with easy prey.”

This is the fifth animal that the Rescue Centre has responded to in recent years that has been badly hurt by gunshot.

If you see a marine mammal in distress, you’re asked to stay back and call the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre at 604-258-SEAL (7325). You can also call the Department of Fisheries and Oceans at 1-800-465-4336.