CONFUSION SURROUNDS the origins of a seal pup which was washed up on a beach last week wearing a tag urging finders to contact London Zoo.
The female pup who has been named “Mighty” by the Irish Seal Sanctuary (ISS) was found on Skerries beach in Co Dublin on Wednesday in an emaciated condition. She was parasite-ridden and suffering from starvation.
The yellow tag was located on her flipper in such a way that it inhibited her swimming and may have contributed to the state in which she was found.
London Zoo said it knew nothing about the seal, adding it did not use the type of tag found on the animal.
ISS volunteer Pauline Beades said it was likely Mighty had been reared as an infant by somebody who did not know much about the welfare of seals.
Meanwhile, the Animal Rights Action Network has written a strongly worded letter to Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper urging him to cancel his country’s 2010 harp seal slaughter. Entertainer Adele King, a former Canadian resident better known as “Twink”, posted the letter on behalf of the group at the GPO in Dublin.
But Canadian ambassador to Ireland Patrick Binns said the cull of seals in the Gulf of St Lawrence was misunderstood by people outside of his country.
“The seal population has been increasing since the 1970s and is now up to about 6.9 million. They are hunted to an annual quota which will sustain their numbers.”