20th
July
Hi
all,
Here a number of very interesting items sent to me by BDMLR members
in the UK. Thanks to those who have submitted items.
Hope you also find the news items from elsewhere of interest....
including the update on those 'Florida Keys' Pilot whales.
Cheers,
Tony.
Exmouth BDMLR Rescue/Training Co-ordinator
BDMLR OnLine
SSPCA
Call on Tayforth Medics to assist
16th
July
Its
19.47hrs on 16th July 2003, Ive just received a telephone call from
the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA)
at Middle Bank Wildlife Hospital, which is a specialist wildlife
centre for seals in Scotland. They have received a call from a member
of the public reporting that a seal pup had been washed ashore at
the Kinghorne Coastal footpath, approx 1 mile west from the B&Q
car park in Kirkcaldy. The animal had been there for about eight
hours, the caller standing sentry keeping dogs and youths away.
As their were no SSPCA Inspectors available could we answer this
shout to assess the animals health and if necessary bring it in
to the SSPCA seal unit. I along with MMM Bruce McLeish set off for
what will be about an hours drive to the location. Upon arrival
at the locus we grab our kit and vari kennel and set off hoping
that the 1 mile walk does not turn out to be more. Eventually we
find the seal and by now two people keeping watch. Upon enquiries
being made it turns out that no less than five attempts had been
made by various people to drag the animal back into the water, upon
which action the pup crawled ashore again and again. Mum was no
where to be seen and had been scared off, although the pup looked
about 9-10kg it looked like the only course of action because of
the human and canine attention was for us was to recover the pup
to the vehicle and onto Middlebank. Just as we reached the Wildlife
Hospital (22.10hrs) we received another call from the SSPCA to a
seal pup at St Andrews, Fife. Looks like we are in for a busy season!!!)
said Bruce and off we go again.
Gareth D Norman
Coordinator Tayforth Group
Seal
Has an Agonising Death - Montrose
16th July
Montrose
medics Elaine Roft and Bob Pert were called out to 2 seals on 16.07.03
that had apparently been shot. Upon arrival at the scene of the
second seal, the medics first impressions were that this female
grey had either pupped early or aborted. Pictures were sent to BDMLR
vet and director James Barnett for his comments. The seal had been
shot through the mouth whilst out at sea, (witnessed by a local)
but somehow managed to come ashore to the rocks. In all it took
an agonising 30 minutes for the seal to die. On 17.07.03 Bob went
back to the carcass to take dentition shots to clarify that the
seal was indeed a grey. Upon his return he was met with a very saddening
sight. The seal had been pregnant when she was shot and had aborted
her pup after the medics had left the day before. The seal bore
an orange rota tag displaying an ID number so Elaine notified Ailsa
Hall at the Sea Mammal Research Unit, and confirmation was given
that the seal was tagged in 1994 on the Isle of Mey making the seal
10 years old from when tagging took place. Bob Reid from the Scottish
Agricultural College has been notified, and Tayside Police Wildlife
Liaison Officers suggested that had it been a common seal, perhaps
a post mortem should be carried out to retrieve the bullet to see
if it came from a rifle of the required weight and velocity for
shooting humanely...if it wasnt then steps could be taken to prevent
this unecessary suffering to other seals in the future. The case
is pending at present, with the carcass and foetus securely fastened
to prevent scavenger damage until a decision has been reached.
Elaine
Roft
British Divers Marine Life Rescue
Montrose area coordinator
Rescuers
planning for whale release - Florida Keys
19th July
BIG
PINE KEY -- A female calf will be released with four other pilot
whales that stranded 93 days ago in Content Passage near Big Pine
Key.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Fisheries have not determined an
exact date for the release, but it should happen within the next
three weeks, Fisheries Southeastern Regional Administrator Dr. Roy
Crabtree said.
"The
calf was the most difficult part," Crabtree said. "She's
awful young."
The
calf was among 28 whales that stranded April 18. Many of the whales
were pushed out to deeper water and some died shortly after the
stranding. Seven were moved to Big Pine Key for rehabilitation and
two later died there.
Rescuers
and Fisheries officials debated for months whether to release the
calf. Dr. Charles Manire, of Mote Marine Aquarium in Sarasota and
resident veterinarian for the pilot whale stranding, is concerned
that the calf is not old enough to make it on its own back in the
wild. The calf's mother was not rescued or may have died on the
first day of the stranding.
Without
her, the female calf might starve to death, Manire fears.
There
had been talk about placing the calf at a facility, but officials
said the result would be that it would never learn to feed on its
own and would not be able to be released back into the wild.
Whale
rehabilitation expert Jeff Foster had been flown in from the Pacific
Northwest to work with the stranded pilot whales. He believes the
calf is strong enough and feeds well enough to be released with
the others, Crabtree said.
Foster
gained world acclaim for his work with "Springer" the
killer whale. Springer was a juvenile whale that stranded and was
eventually released back to the wild. However, the whale kept coming
back to the coast off Seattle to interact with people. Foster was
vital in getting the calf away from people and the whale was last
seen swimming with a killer whale pod.
Foster
will bring in a team of marine mammal behavior experts to work with
local volunteer rescue groups preparing the animals for release.
Those preparations are expected to be accomplished within two to
three weeks.
"It
feels great," Marine Mammal Conservancy President Robert Lingenfelser
said of plans to release the calf. "That's a big winner."
The
pilot whales will be fitted with satellite tracking devices so that
experts can monitor them, Crabtree said.
The
five pilot whales could face problems if they do not find and join
another pod. Pilot whales are not normally found in groups smaller
than 20. Larger groups work better in hunting situations, Manire
said.
Members
of the Florida Keys Marine Mammal Rescue Team and the Marine Mammal
Conservancy, the two groups rehabilitating the whales, have been
working with fishermen and other boaters to spot local pods.
Two
pods have been spotted off the Lower Keys, said Becky Arnold, executive
director of the Marine Mammal Rescue Team.
The
whales have been nursed back to health since they beached themselves
on the flats in Content 
Passage
on April 18. The whales suffered from severe dehydration, which
led to damage to some of their internal organs. Some also battled
pneumonia for several weeks. Rescuers have been working 24 hours
a day with the whales, providing medical and physical therapy.
Some
volunteers have spent months at the makeshift clinic at the edge
of a Big Pine Key lagoon, living in tents and campers to provide
the whales with care.
The
whales were taken off medication nearly a month ago and medically
cleared by a veterinarian late last month.
The
whales will be taken from the small, 30-foot deep lagoon on the
south end of Big Pine Key to an area with water that is at least
600 to 1,000 feet deep. Details on how they will be released are
still tentative.
(
Source : www.keysnews.com )
Shark
safety net becomes a whale trap
July 21
A
Juvenile whale on its annual migration north made an unscheduled
stop at one of the nation's leading tourist spots yesterday when
it was trapped in a shark net off Surfers Paradise.
The
8m humpback was cut free in a three-hour rescue operation just 400m
from Surfers Paradise beach.
The
rescue left a big hole in the net, but the potential danger to swimmers
was only momentary. Shark contractor Craig Newton was standing by
and repaired it within minutes.
Rescue
team leader Mark Saul, of the Boating and Fisheries Patrol, said
the whale "took off at a great rate" when it was freed.
It would have been stressed by the ordeal but did not appear to
have suffered any serious physical harm.
"It
had a bit of surface skin rubbed off in a couple of spots where
it pushed hard on the net," he said. "These would be the
equivalent of a gravel rash a man would suffer if he fell over and
skinned his knee."
The
whale was reported trapped about 7.30am. The rescue team reached
the stricken mammal about 9am and freed it at noon.
The
incident sparked renewed calls by conservationists for the removal
of shark nets.
But
the manager of the Queensland Government's shark control program,
Baden Lane, said an average of about one whale a year had been caught
in shark nets in Queensland since 1994.
That
"was not a lot of whales" out of the population of about
5000 that migrated each year from Antarctica to Hervey Bay in southeast
Queensland between June and November for calving and mating.
(
source : www.news.com.au )
Mass
dolphin capture sparks outcry
18th July
Animal
rights campaigners have called on Mexico to halt the import of at
least 33 dolphins captured in a mass haul off the Solomon Islands.
Around 200 animals are reportedly being held in small, shallow pens
after being captured off the Pacific nation, which is currently
in political turmoil.
Australia urged Mexico to block the importation of the dolphins
destined for a Cancun water park, saying the sale may be illegal.
But
Mexico officials have dismissed the calls saying they have no evidence
the animals are being maltreated.
The
Solomon Islands haul is thought to be the largest ever, and increases
by a fifth the total number of dolphins currently kept in captivity
worldwide.
A
foreign consortium is believed to be behind the mass capture, promising
local fishermen $400 for each dolphin caught.
Rights
groups report that many of those captured are being held in small,
shallow pens on Gela - an island off the capital Honiara.
The
World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) said the animals
are transported for hours by boat - facing permanent internal damage
by being removed from a weightless water environment.
"This
is an animal welfare tragedy and could well have serious impact
on the environment," said Ric O'Barry, WSPA's marine mammal
specialist.
Interventionist
forces
The
fate of the dolphins is complicated because of the political state
of the Solomon Islands, which has been in chaos since the end of
an ethnic war three years ago.
Australia
and New Zealand, due to send in intervention forces, are being urged
by animal rights groups to ensure the safety of the captured dolphins.
Australia's
Environment Minister David Kemp urged Mexico to halt the import
saying it may be flouting international law, which prohibits the
trade in dolphins if it is detrimental to them and harms the environment.
He
added: "We are also communicating our concern to the Solomon
Islands, however we believe that on-ground action ... may be difficult
in light of that country's current situation".
Mexico
responded by saying it "saw no reason to block" a permit
given to Cancun's Parque Nizuc in April for the import of the dolphins.
Georgita
Ruiz, of Mexico's Environmental Protection Agency, said the animals
were expected to arrive in Mexico in "a few days".
(
Source : www.news.bbc.co.uk )
Expensive
taste in fish may lead to mass seal cull
20th July
DNA
study into feeding habits could trigger slaughter as fishermen claim
predator costs industry £60m in salmon and trout.
A mass cull of seals in Scotland could be triggered by a new Scottish
Executive study into how much salmon and trout the creatures consume.
The £250,000 research project, which is to take four years,
was welcomed by the fishing industry, which has long complained
that seal numbers are threatening fish stocks.
Some
150,000 common and grey seals in Scotland each consume 2.5 tonnes
of fish a year. Fishermen claim this costs them £60 million
annually in valuable fish such as salmon and trout.
Using
a new technique, DNA found in seal droppings on the shores of the
Moray Firth will be examined to provide the first accurate account
of what exactly they are eating .
Scientists
from the Fresh water Fisheries Laboratory at Pitlochry and Aberdeen
University developed the DNA test in a £5000 feasibility study
last year, funded by the Atlantic Salmon Trust, and will carry out
the study alongside experts from the Sea Mammal Research Unit at
St Andrews University. The study will begin in the autumn.
Callan
Duck, a seal expert at the Sea Mammal Research Unit, said yesterday
that the end of exploitation of seals had meant their numbers had
risen in the last 15 years.
“Salmon
is in serious decline in Scotland. There has been a lot of vocal
discord from the fishing community in the last 20 years about the
need to manage the seal population. But at the moment a mass cull
would probably have very little effect as you have to target seals
that are consuming fish in rivers very carefully – if you kill
seals at the mouth of a river it will have no effect on the amount
of fish getting eaten upstream.”
But
Hamish Morrison, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s
Federation, said the high political cost of ordering a cull meant
fishermen’s hopes of protecting their trade could go unfulfilled.
“
I don’t believe any western politician would order a cull.
I think this money is being spent at the behest of the salmon industry,
which gets a lot of attention in a way that others don’t,”
he said.
“In
the industry there is so much frustration over seals, but anything
that gains knowledge about their eating pattern would gain wide
support.”
Duck
said: “ You have to think about who benefits from a cull –
if you have a seal cull then the fish population will drop again
as soon as fishermen start taking fish from the rivers. As scientists
it’s a wee bit dodgy to start manipulating populations.”
Conservationists
argue that seals do very little damage to salmon and sea trout stocks
as they tend to eat less valuable fish, and the fishing lobby has
struggled in the past to convince the government that seals are
eating their business.
Jeremy
Read, director of the Atlantic Salmon Trust, acknowledged the study
could lead to more seals being shot in problem areas. “Where
damage is being done – and proved to be being done – then
there is the case for shooting seals.”
Ross
Flett, chairman of Orkney Seal Rescue, said testing for salmon and
sea trout DNA in seal droppings was a “pretty desperate”
attempt to avoid the issue of a real decline in fish stocks.
“Seals
are a soft target. Seals, salmon and sea trout have lived in balance
– it is fishermen who have upset the balance,” said Flett.
A
spokesman for the Executive said: “It would be unwise to speculate
on the outcome of this study or how any outcomes might influence
future policy.”
(
source : www.sundayherald.com )
they were put on night duty many times.
event.
kindly
agreed to go asses the state and extent of the situation and report
back. Mr Finley was back in touch with-in two hours and told how
he had found that the Pilot Whales had stranded along a 6 kilometre
stretch of coast and he estimated that there were approximately
200 in total with only about 20 still alive. When asked what condition
these remaining mammals were in we were told that they were very
distressed and that there were many birds already on site. 
trapped
fulmar on 10th July 2003. Initially, medics Elaine Roft and Bob
Pert had been called to the shooting of a seal which turned out
to be a grey. Local Wildlife Liaison Officers asked the medics to
report back to them if the shot seal turned out to be a common so
that pictures and reports could be drawn up before the carcass was
removed. On inspection of the kilns after attending to the seal,
the medics came upon the fulmar and set about rescuing it, aided
by John Roft / Jill Bridges / Alistair Bridges (locals) who were
keen to act as extra safety men/women due to the buffeting wind.
The fulmar appeared to have a full gullet, was very 
active
and was showing no signs of dehydration, although the bird was allowed
a period of rest as the right wing was drooping slightly. After
a while the bird brought its wing up, any mild stress levels that
were showing disappeared and off it flew. To end the evening, the
medics then logged the dolphin activity around the fishing nets
and reports were sent to Dr Kevin Robinson of CRRU (Cetacean Research
& Rescue Unit) and Vincent Janik of SMRU (Sea Mammal Research
Unit).
