Seals killed and beheaded in Northeast England

Beheaded seals found on a beach in Whitley Bay. Credit RSPCA

January 2010. The bodies of five grey seals have been found on a north-east beach, three of which had been decapitated. The seals were all juveniles, the oldest of which is thought to have been no more than a year old and the youngest just a few weeks. It is not yet known if the seals were killed there, or have washed ashore having been killed elsewhere.

The RSPCA is investigating the grim discovery made by a passer-by at Whitley Bay, North Tyneside on 11 January.

RSPCA acting chief inspector Mark Gent said: "Obviously this was a very upsetting thing to come across and has caused a lot of distress to the person who found them. These were very young animals, one of them was what's often described as a ‘white coat' and was just a few weeks old. Clearly they haven't died of natural causes and we are very concerned. We want to hear from anyone who knows anything that might help us in our investigation as soon as possible."

5 seals were found dead on a beach at Whitley Bay. Credit RSPCA.

One of the seals was tagged. Investigations by the RSPCA have found that it was part of a study into the survival and reproductive success of seals conducted by the Sea Mammal Research Unit, St Andrews, Fife.

Seals are protected under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 and the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c) Regulations 1994 (as amended).

Anyone with any information should call the RSPCA cruelty line on 0300 1234 999 and ask to leave a message for ACI Gent.