A seal was killed by a dog on a beach in Ostend last week, Belga News Agency has reported.
According to North Seal Team (NST), a Belgian seal protection organisation, the seal was found on Thursday evening suffering from severe dog-induced injuries. The seal died shortly thereafter, despite the best efforts of employees at the Sea Life Blankenberge animal park to save his life.
NST noted that this incident is only one of many similar attacks over the past several weeks: on Sunday, the organisation discovered another seal suffering from dog bites on a beach in Ostend — although this time, fortunately, the injuries proved to be non-fatal.
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Both NST and Sea Life Blankenberge request that beachgoers pay more careful attention in future to their dogs' behaviour — "the sense of responsibility of dog handlers remains paramount". They also ask that those who see a distressed seal contact either NST or Sea Life Blankenberge at the earliest possible opportunity.
