RSPCA Friends of West Hatch Newsletter Autumn-Winter 2018 | issue 15 | Page 17

New pool gets
seal of approval!
Each winter the wildlife centre sees
numerous grey seal pups admitted as
orphans or suffering from illness or injury.
Over the last five years the numbers have
steadily grown – with admissions reaching
a record level of 112 in the 2017/2018 season.
As such we realised that we needed to
expand our facilities and build a new pool
that will help us care for these animals in the
last stages before their release back to the
wild. Having a large pool allows the seals to
practice their skills and get fully fit before
facing the winter seas once more.
This project has taken many years, but we
are delighted to report that it was finished
in September. The photos show the journey
from start to finish – and we are sure you
will agree the end result has made the long
process more than worthwhile.