Anja Murray: Life and death among Ireland's wild seals

These gorgeous baby Grey seals are born on beaches from September onwards... but going too close will do them more harm than good

Anja Murray: "The distinctive fluffy white coat of young grey seals is not yet properly waterproof, so they are not yet ready to go to sea." Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

Humans have long considered seals, with their big, dark endearing eyes, to be kindred to our kind. Irish and Scottish folklore is rich with stories of selkies — human-seals who shape shift, straddling the worlds of water and land, and sometimes even falling in love and having human families, before eventually being drawn back to life at sea. Not only do we share these ancient stories with the Scots, but grey seals themselves also travel easily between Scotland’s northern isles and Irish coastlines, frequently making the journey there and back several times a year.

Right now, pregnant seals are preparing to come ashore for the birthing season. For grey seals, this begins in September and continues through to November, when seal mothers haul themselves up on to remote beaches in undisturbed areas to give birth to a single pup each.

From September onwards, beaches become home to adorable looking, fluffy white-coated seal pups. Their mothers leave them alone for a few hours at a time, while they go fishing, returning regularly to nurse the pup with her fat-rich milk. These youngsters must grow quickly enough to be able to withstand cold Atlantic waters within a month or so and to fend for themselves through the winter.

Pupping season, though, makes seals vulnerable. If you see a seal pup during the coming months, don’t jump to the conclusion that they have been abandoned. They do not need 'rescuing' simply because they are alone on the shore. Seal Rescue Ireland advises people to keep their distance and avoid disturbing the animals during the early weeks of their development. This means keeping dogs on a lead when on the beach and not going any closer than 100 metres to the seal, to make sure that seals do not feel threatened or stressed by human presence. The distinctive fluffy white coat of young grey seals is not yet properly waterproof, so they are not yet ready to go to sea.

Being clever animals, seals do indeed take fish from fishers’ nets, especially gill nets and tangle nets where fish are an easy target. But the quantity of fish eaten by seals is a tiny fraction of the overall catch by trawlers and certainly not the cause of declining stocks. Picture: Joe Giddens/PA Wire

But people were not always so delighted about the presence of seals. In the 20th century, grey seals across Britain and Ireland were almost driven to extinction. Thousands of seals were culled, seen as a pest and a menace to the fishing industry. Many thousands of seals were shot and poisoned, much of this activity taking place during the autumn months when breeding colonies made mothers and their pups an easy target.

But in the 1970s, thankfully, our attitude toward seals began to shift. The conservation movement gained momentum and the Wildlife Act made seals a protected species here. Further protections have come through the European Habitats Directive of 1992. This reduced the number of seals being shot or clubbed to death each year by people who resent that seals eat fish that fishers would rather catch in their nets.

In a classic example of people seeking a scapegoat for problems relating to diminishing resources, as fish stocks have collapsed due growing fleet capacity and resulting overfishing, some have remained eager to blame the seals. Being clever animals, seals do indeed take fish from fishers’ nets, especially gill nets and tangle nets where fish are an easy target. But the quantity of fish eaten by seals is a tiny fraction of the overall catch by trawlers and certainly not the cause of declining stocks.

As seal populations have made a welcome recovery all around Ireland and Scotland, illegal culling has continued. In November 2004 a French wildlife documentary maker discovered 17 furry seal pups on the shore in the Blasket islands, covered in blood, having been shot. Upon returning to investigate, they discovered 60 seals, adults and pups, all shot and bludgeoned to death. Grey seals are a protected species, so this killing is illegal, though not many people in fishing communities would have been willing to report such incidents. The capacity of the authorities to prosecute is often limited too. Such brutal killings do still occur but seem to have abated.

Self-care Sunday with Opal 🥰 pic.twitter.com/xbTZaZlOzb

— Seal Rescue Ireland (@seal_rescue) August 24, 2025

A recent investigation by The Journal Investigates has revealed that reports of dead seals washing up on shore has risen sharply in recent years — more than doubling between 2020 and 2023, and rising steadily since 2018. These figures are compiled by Seal Rescue Ireland, which maintains a database of seal deaths. A total of 430 dead seals were reported to the National Parks and Wildlife Service in 2023. Many had injuries ‘consistent with a gun shot’ or other intentional killing. Counties Cork, Wexford, Kerry, Dublin, and Mayo are all noted as having high reported seal deaths, through a combination of natural deaths and illegal killing. In some limited cases, special licences are issued to salmon farms to shoot bothersome seals... ones who have learned that farmed salmon held in large nets make for an easy meal. There is no evidence, however, that culling prevents recurrence of the problem — soon enough another seal will find their way in to the same salmon farm.

Storms have been a factor too. The frequency of severe storms is rising and these cause seal pups to be separated from their mothers while they are still too young to survive alone. Even for weaned seal pups capable of hunting, high waves, strong winds, and turbulent seas make it challenging to see, locate and catch enough fish, reducing their chances of survival. Younger, less experienced seals are also more likely to experience high levels of exhaustion as they struggle against strong winds and turbulence. This is one of myriad ways that climate change is impacting already fragmented wildlife populations.

Most people now see seals as a delight, and encounters with the harbour seals and grey seals around Irish coastlines provide much-needed opportunities for many people to see wild animals. The changing attitudes toward seals echoes the changing nature of our relationship with wild creatures.