Fw: The African Continent's Only Seal Rescue Centre

August 31, 2008

Saturday, August 30, 2008 7:51 PM

The African Continent's Only Seal Rescue Centre

Dear Cape Fur Seal Supporters,

Thanks for responding to my appeal for help after the 4th break-in and to the kind financial contributions of Chrystelle, Monika, Christophe, Jill, Judy, Sabine, Paula, Eva, Cecilia, Tamsin, Ornella and Paul, and a 2000 Sterling pound grant from Jeanne Marchig of the Marchig Animal Welfare Trust, their 4th to date, tremendous progress has been made to the Seal Centre.

Almost 2 years ago I started with a dilapidated roofless warehouse and a collapsing lower pier outside, and 20 baby seals requiring immediate facilities. Two generations of new-born baby seals have since moved through the centre, as well as hundred's of others. Thanks to your recent kindness, and further contributions from myself, I have spent R57 000 developing the centre further. Unfortunately it was not possible to secure the roof from further break-ins, as it was impossible to do construction work around the pups in the centre. So it was necessary to construct the outside area first, which could house the pups, whilst allowing then for work to begin on roof in the main centre.

As you can see from the pics above, I have broken a part of the centre wall and installed a roller shutter door, this in turn leads to a small area, that will be the next generation of baby pups rescued nursery. They will have a small pool, filled with seawater, under floor heating and it will have a pebble floor. It will be completely caged for their protection. As they grow older, they will then move down the steps to the lower pier, which is 5m by 10m. Here I am building a second larger pool (our 4th in the centre). This pier is completely protected with a 2,5m wall, spikes and barbed wire. Later floodlights and CCTV security camera's as well. This pier will also serve as a treatment and disentangling area for larger seals from 20kg to 360kg bull seals, and all the seals will have the freedom of entering the sea via the spiral steps leading into the sea. This in effect has doubled the size of my existing facility.

Funds were spent on breaking down two walls, installing roller shutter doors, construction of 2,5 high wall, security, and re-enforced to cope with 70km winds. Strengthen the pier, and resurface it with concrete, the fence for the pups. Our 10 pups now enjoy direct access to the sea and its freedom, where they will learn now to hunt their own fish.

I trust you are pleased that your funds have been well spent. Future plans as funds become available will be to develop further down the lower pier, trebling our current size. The two existing internal pools need to be replastered and glass-fibre. The roof security panels and roof sheeting and a mezzanine level, which will serve as a work/office area. The outside of the building needs plastering and re-painting. I will also be installing hoists to launch our seal rescue craft, for immediate response, and will be moving our two floating rafts and catamaran closer to the centre.

The African Continent's Only Seal Rescue Centre

Why is this seal centre so important for the endangered Cape fur seals of Africa? I have unearthed and held in my hands baby seal flipper bones dating back over 5 million years, and although Africa is believed to be the cradle of mankind, man only appeared 2-3 million years ago. This species of seal, the only seal breeding on the African continent, and found nowhere else on earth, exceeds mankind's evidence on this planet by over 2 million years. Seals were here first, and I work to ensure they are here, long after I am gone.

We cannot rely solely on government's to ensure their future, or we will face situations like the Caribbean Monk Seals last seen in 1952 (in otherwords extinct), it then was classified endangered, and only in 2008, declared officially extinct and removed from the endangered list, as it no longer made any sense or the southern Africa Quagga, a zebra, with the last one shot in 1870, to which then government moved to protect the species, only to discover the last Quagga had died in an Amsterdam zoo in 1883.

Thanks to sealers, Cape fur seals nearly went extinct as well, after exterminating all their offshore island colonies, and although government moved to protect the species in 1893, has done little to ensure the return of seals to 99% of their still extinct offshore colonies. The only organization to list Cape fur seals as endangered in 1977, is the United Nations - Convention In Trade Of Endangered Species, which is the same organization that grants Namibian sealers export permits to club to death all surviving mainland seal pups in Namibia.With global warming threatening to engulf their low lying offshore islands and overfishing wiping out their fish stocks, seals need active intervention and protection, most importantly a sound understanding of their future survival needs.

My efforts are eventually to re-populate extinct seal island colonies with rescued baby seals in groups to established their own new colonies.

The African Continent, occupying 20% of the Earth's total land area, the 2nd largest continent and 2nd most populous. It is somewhat of a contradiction that 61 separate government countries in Africa serve the needs of over 900 million people - and Seal Alert-SA, a one-man privately operated Seal Centre, is left to serve the needs of the Cape fur seals.

Humble beginnings. 10 years ago, started with treating seals on rocks along the coastline, then bath-tubs at home, back gardens, to floating rafts and boats, until 2 years ago, I acquired our current facilities in Hout Bay Harbour. The 2nd busiest commercial fishing harbour in South Africa.

There was naturally massive opposition to helping these seals in a commercial fishing harbour, hence why it makes sense to be here, but at the same time there is no local support. So I thank you for all the help. In an attempt to generate funds, my wife Nelda has sculptured statues of actual seals rescued, which is cast in stone/rock, and which are then hand painted by myself and sold to tourists undertaking boat rides to the nearby seal colony. Under the slogan, Buy Seal - Save Seal. After having had meetings with the Prime Minister of Namibia, I do not believe a political solution will end the seal clubbing, as such, via our seal awareness van, we will distribute informative seal pamphlets about the clubbing, to the tourists, as many are on-bound to Namibia, after their visit in SA. Hopefully this awareness will pressure Namibia economically via tourism boycotts

Pups fleeing the killing fields in Namibia will start arriving on our shores within the next month, and thereafter in November its baby pupping time and their rescues, so if its at all possible I would like to complete rebuilding of the centre as soon as possible.

If you are able to help financially, please let me know, as I am truly working from hand to mouth, and have zero funds left after the latest rebuild. I have amazing plans for this centre and the seals that I rescue, and really want it to become a world class facility, where the seals are safe and always free.

More on each baby seal, our 10 pups in my next update.

For the Seals

Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA