The heart wrenching moment a blonde seal was strangled by a fishing net on the Norfolk coast has been captured on camera.
IT consultant, Geoff Smith, 54, captured the photograph which illustrates the reality of plastic pollution.
The seal can be seen with a thick blue net wrapped around its neck, seemingly impossible for the seal to remove this alone.
This is the tragic scene of a blonde seal who has been caught in a plastic fishing net at Horsey Gap on the Norfolk Coast
The animal appeared to have red blotches around his neck, possibly caused by the net cutting into its flesh
Mr Smith contacted seal rescue charity Friends of Horsey Seals, but the animal was able to escape into the sea, avoiding volunteers who wanted to cut him free from the net
Mr Smith contacted seal rescue charity Friends of Horsey Seals to inform them of the seal – but the mammal managed to give volunteers who tried to catch him the slip, and disappeared back into the sea.
Mr Smith, from Ipswich said: ‘You could see that the seal’s neck was cut and that the seal had grown since getting tangled in the netting.
Photographer Geoff Smith said: ‘Mr Smith, from Ipswich said: ‘You could see that the seal’s neck was cut and that the seal had grown since getting tangled in the netting. ‘It’s a tragedy that waste has been a blight on wildlife caused by our carelessness and laziness, both of which can be avoided by raising awareness and educating people and industry on the real consequences of their actions.’
‘It’s a tragedy that waste has been a blight on wildlife caused by our carelessness and laziness, both of which can be avoided by raising awareness and educating people and industry on the real consequences of their actions.’
David Vyse, from Friends of Horsey Seals, said: ‘The injured seals tend to stay close to the sea as they are limited with movement or stay inside the colony for safety.
‘When a human comes close, it will either quickly enter the sea, or move with the colony to ‘safety’.
‘We have spotted this seal a few times since the photo was taken in February, and it seems to be eating well.
‘We will try our very best to catch him and remove the plastic when the conditions are right, causing minimum disruption to the seal colony.
Plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds are to be banned in England from next year to tackle pollution and protect the environment.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove has confirmed a ban on the supply of the items from April 2020 after a consultation revealed ‘overwhelming’ public support for the move.
Exemptions will allow those who need to use plastic straws for medical reasons or a disability to buy them from registered pharmacies or request them in restaurants, pubs and bars, and the use of plastic-stemmed cotton buds for medical and scientific purposes.
Food and drink outlets will not be able to display plastic straws or automatically hand them out.
It is estimated that 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds are used each year in England.
Around 10 per cent of cotton buds are flushed down toilets, often ending up in waterways and oceans, the Government said.
It is hoped millions of pounds could be saved annually on clean-up efforts of used plastics.
