Last updated on February 22nd, 2024 at 07:46 am

A seal has finally been rescued after suffering with a plastic ring stuck around his neck – for six years. Seal Research Trust volunteers have been tracking the adult male grey seal, which had been caught in a blue plastic ring since September 2017. The seal, named ‘Commuter’ after his routine trips up and down the coast of Cornwall had chosen inaccessible locations which had made rescue attempts by BDMLR (British Divers Marine Life Rescue) impossible – until now. SRT surveyor Andy Rogers was routinely surveying his local haul out site when he spotted Commuter high up the beach with a relatively small number of other seals, and an outgoing tide. Upon reporting his sighting to BDMLR, and assessing the circumstances and logistics involved – the urgent preparation for a rescue attempt began. According to the marine charity, safe capture and disentanglement of adult seals carries extra risk to the rescuers – as they are large animals weighing over 200kg and can be defensive when they feel threatened. A team of experienced handlers and specialist equipment were needed to be able to catch and control Commuter safely on land. If at any point he had gone into the sea, a rescue would have been impossible.