Harbour seal populations in parts of Scotland have declined by over 90% since the 1990s, with causes including shooting by fish farms, entanglement, disease and prey depletion affecting individual welfare.
Shooting of seals causes acute suffering and death when not instantly fatal. Entanglement in creel lines causes panic, injury, and drowning. Disease outbreaks cause systemic suffering across population. Individual seals experiencing these harms are intelligent, long-lived social animals with rich cognitive lives. The management framework has prioritised commercial fisheries over seal welfare.