A very weak seal washed up on Ostende beach on Friday evening. It was eventually euthanized on Saturday evening, Sea Life Blankenberge revealed. They had themselves examined the animal. It washed up on Ostende beach at around 8.30pm on Friday. “First of all, we just observed it. But there was not a lot we could do. The animal, which was an adult, put itself in a banana shaped position, and seemed very weak”, says Jasper Matthis, a keeper at Sea Life.
On Saturday morning, the centre learned the animal was still on the beach. “First off, we analysed the situation”, says Mr Matthis. “The seal’s health had severely worsened. We therefore decided to euthanize it.” A vet performed the procedure on Saturday evening. The Belgian Royal Institute of Natural Sciences will now do an autopsy.
The seal probably went onto the beach to die. Grey seals do not often appear on Belgian beaches. These animals are normally on the English coast at this time of year.
Police were called in to keep tourists and spectators back. “Seals can become aggressive, so a security perimeter was needed”, said Mr Matthis.
(Source: Belga)
