Seal saved from suffocating netting in Newquay
Teams have been on the lookout for 'Nanette' since December 2024
Last updated 15th Feb 2025
A seal has been freed in Newquay after weeks of suffocation from a fishing net.
Since December, teams have been looking for 'Nanette' who found the wound around her neck enclosed the monofilament inside her body.
They say it was an extremely difficult rescue - but she's finally loose.
The creature had been sighted on a few occasions at a semi-accessible site in north Cornwall and potentially in a position to be able to be captured and cut free.
Bosses at British Divers Marine Life Rescue say it took a number of attempts, because of 'disturbance from people on the clifftop' - who were said to be ignoring barriers, warnings and direct advice from the volunteers.
They add this wasted the opportunity for rescue and prolonged Nanette’s painful situation.
On the third attempt, back on January 31, a team of five experienced volunteers including a veterinarian were able to access the beach undetected with capture equipment.
They were able to immobilise her first in a large cargo net, and then further restrain her in a specialist stretcher to help keep her still while the entanglement was assessed.
We've been told that the monofilament net was found to be cutting so deeply into her neck that the wound had healed over the top of it around most of her neck, enclosing it within her body.