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Europe’s largest seal hospital is facing bankruptcy.
Stichting Zeehondencentrum Pieterburen (the Pieterburen Seal Center Foundation) in Groningen, Netherlands, may be forced to file for bankruptcy following the sudden and unexpected removal of government funding.
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The seal hospital’s director and supervisory board are expected to file for bankruptcy within two weeks. The municipality of Het Hogeland and the province of Groningen recently withdrew their support, and without funding, the rescue center will close, forty workers will lose their jobs, and “seals in need” will no longer be taken care of.
The Pieterburen Seal Center Foundation carries out the rescue and rehabilitation of seals from across Northern Europe, including those endangered by entanglements, and abandoned and injured pups. The facility also provides data for monitoring disease, health, bioacoustics, anthropogenic disturbances, and seal behavior.
“We are shocked and sad,” Bas Wemmenhove, the director of the Pieterburen Seal Center Foundation, said in a statement. “The planned bankruptcy is an incredibly difficult conclusion. For our employees, volunteers, donors and creditors, and above all for the seals that are in difficulty.”
The Pieterburen Seal Center Foundation is attempting to raise €2.8 million to safeguard the facility’s future. Over €1.1 million has been donated so far. You can donate to the center here and sign a petition in support of its work here.
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Why are seals so important?
Seals are semi-aquatic animals known as pinnipeds. According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), they are the only marine mammals that feed in the water but breed on land. Seals’ pup season begins in early November.
Seals are a keystone species, which means that their continued health supports the well-being of their ecosystem, from fauna to flora. Along with entanglement, the climate crisis and commercial hunting threaten seals’ continued existence.
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