Seals face welfare threats from commercial hunting, fishing gear entanglement and plastic pollution. Understanding these pressures is key to effective advocacy.
Commercial seal hunting causes welfare concerns due to the methods used and the difficulty of ensuring rapid death in difficult field conditions. Entanglement in fishing gear causes slow suffering over weeks or months as synthetic materials cut progressively deeper into tissue. Rehabilitation of seals is welfare-positive when facilities apply evidence-based care and successful release protocols. Human disturbance of haul-out sites and pupping beaches causes mothers to abandon pups, which is a preventable source of mortality. Effective welfare advocacy addresses both acute and chronic welfare threats.