Appeal to build new dedicated seal hospital in Cornwall smashes £30k target
British Divers Marine Life Rescue launched the campaign amid a rise in calls to sick and injured pups
A campaign to help build a new dedicated seal hospital in Cornwall has smashed its £30,000 target.
British Divers Marine Life Rescue spend the winter months helping injured pups around our coast.
So far, the BDMLR has raised over £34,000 for a purpose-built facility that will have DOUBLE the current capacity.
The group is hoping it will be built in the mid-Cornwall, in time for the next rescue season.
All extra donations and fundraising efforts will help towards equipment, training, resources and of course care for the BDMLR's seal pups.
Read More: Save Our Seals: Help build a new seal pup hospital in Cornwall
"The aim is to, hopefully, have it built over the summer and then it'll be open in time for the next seal rescue season. When they're giving birth to their pups around late-August/September is when we usually start to get our call-outs coming in.
"The new hospital will have ten pens in it altogether for seal pups. We'll have a prep area and food storage. We'll also have an office for out vet to work from. Also, very excitingly, a classroom that we can use for training and education".
Dan Jarvis, British Divers Marine Life Rescue
Why does Cornwall need a new dedicated seal hospital?
Cornwall is one of British Divers Marine Life Rescue's busiest regions in the country for calls to seal pups.
Around 90% of called to the BDMLR are to seal pups.
They face numerous threats even during the first few critical months of their lives. Sadly, many of these threats are a result of human activity- be it disturbance of mothers and their young pups, entanglement in discarded fishing gear, or being caught up in the increasing numbers of winter storms we are seeing each year as a result of climate change.
Partly as a result of these threats, the BDMLR is receiving more and more calls to seal pups each year who desperately need our help. They may have become separated prematurely from their mother, or be malnourished, sick or injured.
Its trained volunteers can attend these animals and ensure they are taken to safety. The aim is always to deliver them to a specialist rehabilitation centre as soon as possible, with the hope they are eventually released back to the wild.
"Any donations, big or small, will be very gratefully received and put to good use helping pups like Desi (pictured above).
"Desi was rescued one night in November in the midst of stormy weather. He was exhausted, freezing cold and had various injuries. He was rescued by BDMLR medics and taken to our hospital for a full veterinary assessment and further treatment.
"Despite his temperature coming back up over the following night Desi remained extremely lethargic and the next day seemed to deteriorate further. In the afternoon, one of our medics witnessed Desi being very sick- it seemed he had unfortunately eaten a bird carcass in his search to find something to eat - and this had resulted in a very serious stomach upset.
"Desi remained very unstable for the next few days and there were times we thought he wouldn't make it. Our lead vet gave him a thorough check over each day, carefully monitoring his progress and adjusting the various treatments he was on. Combined with the care from the hospital's volunteers ensuring he was comfortable and fed appropriately, we eventually saw Desi turn a corner about a week later".
British Divers Marine Life Rescue