RSPCA officers had rocks thrown at them while trying to rescue seal from a beach

Two young boys threw rocks from the cliff face where they were standing  

RSPCA officers had rocks thrown at them while they went to assess an injured seal on a Kent beach.

Inspectors Grace Harris-Bridge and Tina Nash had been attending a call-out to an injured seal on Shakespeare Beach, Dover on the afternoon of Wednesday 1 April.

But as they were walking down the stairs and across the bridge which leads towards the beach they heard a large bang and a rock appeared a short distance in front of them.

The shocked rescuers looked up and could see two boys standing on the nearby cliff face – the direction where the large rock had been thrown.

Grace said: “It actually took a moment for what had happened to sink in – we had suddenly seen this rock that had been thrown and looked up and then saw the boys.

“They had thrown the rock from quite a distance up  – and so if it had hit us from that height I really don’t know if we would have survived the force of impact and that’s terrifying to think about.

“We did shout at the boys as did some members of the public who had heard what had happened and I was feeling paranoid about carrying on along the bridge in case they threw more at us.

“We carried on though and went to assess the seal to see if she needed removing from the location and we made arrangements for our colleagues who had the appropriate equipment to collect her the following day.

“The RSPCA is like other frontline services and is still working during this crisis and doing what we can to help animals in need during these very difficult days and weeks. It’s just frustrating that while the majority of the public are so very supportive of our work there are still people like these boys making that job even more dangerous.

“It was actually really upsetting that this happened and quite scary as well.”

The seal, one of last year’s pups, was assessed and had an injury to her eye and flipper – arrangements were made for colleagues to collect her the next morning as at that point the tide was already starting to come in.

The seal was collected safely and taken to our wildlife centre for treatment.

The seal was taken to Mallydams Wood Wildlife Centre for treatment but sadly following a thorough examination and x-ray vets found that she was suffering from a deformed spine which was restricting her movement and likely causing nerve damage which had led to infected wounds around her back end and rear flippers. She also had  limited vision due to an ulcerated wounded eye and the sad decision was made to put her to sleep to prevent her suffering any further.

The incident involving the boys was reported to the police by members of the public who had seen it happen and officers attended the location.

To help the RSPCA keep rescuing animals like these and keep our animal hospitals and centres running for emergency treatment and round the clock care through these unprecedented times, please donate whatever you can spare at www.rspca.org.uk/covid

Many owners are concerned about caring for their pets amid the Coronavirus – or Covid-19 – outbreak. There’s lots of advice and help on our website.

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