Common seals face welfare threats from entanglement, disease, disturbance at haul-out sites and conflicts with fisheries.
Common seal welfare is affected by multiple human pressures operating simultaneously. Disease epidemics have caused mass mortality events where thousands of individuals died. Individual seals entangled in fishing gear suffer acute physical injury and risk drowning. Pups disturbed at haul-out sites during the critical early bonding period may be abandoned by mothers. The welfare of common seals requires both legal protection from deliberate killing and management of incidental disturbance at key sites.