22-05-2025
'Save Our Seals': The beach toy campaigners want banned to protect marine life
The RSPCA says it's dealing with an increasing number of distressing incidents of seals being strangled by frisbees, as ITV News Wales Reporter Rhys Williams investigates
With the warm weather and a May half-term ahead, many of us will hit the beach to enjoy some fun in the sun - but campaigners are warning of the danger a type of frisbee, known as a 'flying ring,' can cause to seals.
The rings, a plastic or rubber circle with a hole in the middle, sell for as little as £1-£2 at beachside shops, but can easily slip over a seal pup's head and cause horrible injuries as they grow.
If untreated, these injuries can kill seals and other marine mammals.
The UK Seal Alliance is calling on the government to ban the import and sale of the rings as part of its 'Save Our Seals' campaign, launching next week.
'We are not here to stop people having fun," Gareth Richards from the UK Seal Alliance told me. "We just want people to change the frisbee they are using.'
Gareth explained that a discarded or lost flying ring 'can enter the water and be seen by young seals as a toy or plaything.'
He said the rings are "irresistible to the inquisitive creatures" and wants 'people to ask themselves 'Is my frisbee seal safe?' If it is a ring frisbee, it is not.'
One young seal was recently admitted to East Winch Wildlife Centre with a flying ring around its neck. It was spotted off the Norfolk coast.
The centre's manager, Evangelos Achilleos, told ITV News that while the seal was recovering well, injuries of this kind are common due to the 'naturally inquisitive nature' of the animal.
'They'll just swim and they'll notice a flying ring along the surface and they just pop their head in,' Mr Achielleos said.
'As they get bigger, it gets tighter and tighter - and as it gets tighter, it then leads to horrific injuries, which then exposes them to infection.
"If they aren't treated over time, it can kill them.'
Swansea Council, which looks after The Gower Peninsula's beaches, has become the first local authority in the UK to push retailers to stop selling ring style frisbees in stories near beaches.
The campaign has seen major companies like Tesco, Halfords and Pets at Home voluntarily agree to stop selling the frisbees in their stores in the Swansea area.
Local business owners have also agreed to stop selling frisbees that are not seal safe.
David Rogers, from Kennexstone Leisure, said he wasn't aware of the issue until recently: 'As soon as I was told what items were the problem, we took them straight off sale.'
He explained that he stopped selling the products because 'nature is suffering, our oceans are suffering and nature needs everyone's help.'
Even though he lives near the sea, Mr Rogers didn't know about the danger to seals. He now wants to make sure he is only 'selling something that doesn't cause a problem for any animal.'
MP for North Cornwall Ben Maguire told ITV News he would raise the prospect of a ban with ministers.
'This is a simple change that manufacturers, holiday makers, and everyone can get behind. It doesn't cost the earth,' he said.
'Ultimately, we want to protect marine wildlife. So as long as we come up with a solution to do that, I'm not sure the means are necessarily as important as the destination we want to get to.'
Campaigners say that flying rings are an 'unnecessary and avoidable threat to seals.'
Their hope is the local success here can become a UK wide campaign to ban the sale in coastal communities.
