Can YOU help keep Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre open?
The centre rescues, rehabilitates and releases seals in need. But they’re struggling to keep their heads above water due to high costs and a lack of funding.
CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit speaks to Kim Krynauw of the Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre.
Listen below:
Every day, the dedicated team at Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre saves, rehabilitates and releases seals in need.
The centre has been going since 1999 and is open 24/7, but behind every life saved is a mountain of costs:
- Fuel and transport for emergency rescues along the coastline.
- Food and formula for malnourished and orphaned pups.
- Medical supplies to treat injuries, infections and parasites.
- Facility costs: electricity, water and enclosure maintenance.
- Specialist equipment to safely handle and care for seals.
- Veterinary care for critically injured animals.
- Dedicated staff and volunteers who make this work possible.
Rehabilitating seal pups can take a year before they're vaccinated, tagged and released back into the wild.
The centre receives no government funding, and its survival depends on public donations.
Without these donations, the centre won't be able to give many seals a second chance at life by providing them with the help they need.
Krynauw appeals to large corporations to help with donations and make the centre part of their CSI programs.
To help keep the centre's doors open for rescuing, head to the website to donate - every cent counts.
"It would be a really sad day if our centre had to close because we are really the only one of its kind. We travel from Hout Bay to Hermanus all the way to Elands Bay... we do a lot of work rescuing, rehabilitating and disentangling seals and travel far to do so. We also work quite closely with the Two Oceans Aquarium, assisting with sampling to see how effective the rabies vaccine is... now with rabies, we are sometimes the first point of call..."
- Kim Krynauw, Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre
"The reality is that seals are being killed every day. They are shot, gassed and used for muti... the biggest issue is overfishing and starvation... they die daily."
- Kim Krynauw, Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre
"We get to them very quickly... we make sure we remove them out of harm's way, like people stoning them or beating them to death with sticks... we are a 24-hour operation, so any time of day, you can call us."
- Kim Krynauw, Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.