Common seals on the east coast of Britain face disease outbreaks, fishing gear entanglement, and disturbance at haul-out sites that affect their welfare.
Common seals drowning in fishing nets experience acute distress and asphyxiation. Phocine distemper virus causes respiratory disease, seizures, and progressive weakness before death in affected individuals during epidemic years. Pups disturbed by walkers, boats, or dogs at haul-out sites are abandoned by mothers who may not return, leaving pups to starve. Seals legally shot at fish farms experience acute trauma. Entangled seals that escape nets carry embedded net fragments causing chronic wound infection and progressive disability affecting feeding ability.