Grey seals give birth to white-coated pups on beaches and rocky shores around the UK coast. Disturbance during the pupping season causes pup abandonment and death, making appropriate visitor behaviour critical.
Grey seal pup welfare is acutely vulnerable to human disturbance during the first three weeks of life. Mother seals are attentive but easily spooked by approaching people or dogs: a frightened mother may enter the sea and fail to return to her pup, which cannot survive without nursing. Well-meaning people approaching what they perceive to be a lonely or abandoned pup can cause the very abandonment they are trying to prevent. Healthy pups resting on beaches alone are typically waiting for their mother to return from the sea; intervention should only occur if the pup is clearly injured or emaciated. The welfare harm from inappropriate visitor behaviour is real and documented: abandoned pups that do not receive rescue intervention die from starvation within days. Designated viewing distances, responsible wildlife photography, and keeping dogs on leads near pupping beaches directly prevent this welfare harm.