Mrs Vicar makes progress in East Winch
The RSPCA is looking after her
A seal rescued from Horsey Beach in Norfolk on Easter Sunday with a plastic ring cutting into her neck is making positive progress in her rehabilitation.
Mrs Vicar had spent more than two years with the plastic ring cutting into her neck before the seal rescue team, part of Friends of Horsey Seals, were finally able to catch her.
She was rushed to RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre for urgent treatment.
The adult grey seal had a rigid 2.5cm white plastic ring deeply embedded in her neck. The ring has been caught around her neck for around two and a half years, according to sightings, as seals are sadly unable to get rings off their heads once they are trapped in them.
As she grew bigger it began to cut deeper into her neck and caused a 7cm deep wound, which had also become infected and was very smelly.
Vets removed the ring from her neck and then gave her antibiotics, pain relief and salt baths in order to heal the horrific wound.
And now almost a month later, Mrs Vicar is showing some positive signs of improvement although she is still not out of the woods yet.
Alison Charles, centre manager at East Winch, said: "When I first saw how severe Mrs Vicar's wounds were I was really worried she wouldn't be able to make it.
"It was just so severe and infected and you could smell the infected flesh, it was just awful. When the ring was removed it then meant that her body released a huge swell of dangerous toxins, which she then had to fight off.
"So for the first few days she didn't really move or show any signs of improvement - and although this is something we do see with necklace injured seals, it was still very worrying that she wasn't going to pull through.
"However each day there was a small sign of improvement and she started eating and her salt baths began to work on the infected wound.
"Now we have moved her into the outside pool where we hope the sunshine and the fresh air will continue to work to repair her wounds. One side is still very infected and we are concerned by it, but we have to just take each day as it goes.
"In the outside pool we also work to build up her strength and get her to swim from one end to the other to catch her fish. This enables her to stretch her neck to reach for the food, which is also very important for her recovery.
"While we are all still very concerned for her, we are pleased that she is starting to make real steps of improvement - but it is still a very long road to recovery and she is still likely to be at the centre for another three months."
The RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre launched a fundraiser to help pay for fish to feed the sick, orphaned and injured seals in their care. The centre cares for over 150 seals each year and the cost of mackerel to feed them is rising, costing the charity a whopping £3,999 for three pallets of mackerel.
Alison said: "Mrs Vicar's story really touched a chord with so many people and we were overwhelmed with the generosity of the public who donated hundreds of bags of salt and also thousands of pounds to our fish appeal.
"We are grateful to the Friends of Horsey Seals for their continued support as they also highlighted our fundraising efforts and many of their generous supporters also donated.
"So far we have raised just over £8,700 and our target is £10,000 so it would be wonderful if people can help us to reach this milestone.
"Mrs Vicar and all the other seals in our care are still getting through lots of mackerel so we are still in need of donations if people still do want to help us."
If you see an animal you have concerns about please call the RSPCA's emergency line on 0300 1234 999. Do not attempt to capture or handle an injured seal.
In the last two years, the RSPCA has received 8,092 calls about animals injured or caught up in litter. That's an average of 11 incidents per day.