The Courtown Seal Rescue Centre, located in County Wexford was something the girls were really keen to see and it turned out to be a fantastic educational experience. An dit felt good to know our money was going to a good cause. The Seal Rescue Centre is the only charity of it’s kind in the Republic of Ireland that is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of injured, sick and orphaned seals. The centre runs daily tours of the facilities, which consists of the seal hospital, the recovery kennels and the four rehabilitation pools.
The first part of the tour was a talk that ran for approx 15 minutes where we learned about the dangers that face wild seals, including pollution, disease, starvation, injuries and orphaning. We heard about all the ways volunteers across Ireland work together to rescue and transport injured and sick seals to the centre in Courtown and then what is involved in the rehabilitation and release of the seals back into the wild.
It was really interesting and the girls were very attentive during the talk. We heard success stories of seals that have been rescued and released back into the wild and got to know some of the seals that were currently recovering at the rescue centre.
Afterwards, we were led outside into the yard area of the rescue centre and were able to look through the window of the hospital room where we could watch some of the volunteers preparing food for the seals.
We were also able to observe some of the baby seals in the kennel areas where they recuperate from their injuries or sickness. Most of them were babies and are such cute little creatures in a weird looking sort of way, big eyes but a body like a slug.
The rescue centre aimed to minimised the ammount of time the seals interact with humans, to ensure they can be released back int o the wild without an reliance on humans. So this meant that we could not feed or touch the seals, however it was interesting enough to watch them and ask our guide questions.
Once the seals are stronger and ready for release, they are moved to the four difference pools in the rescue centre. The last pool they stay in before their release is completely sectioned off from visitors, to reduce their interaction with humans and prepare them for reentering the wild. We were able to see two different seals swimming in the pools.
While it wasn’t a particularly long tour, we were in and out within an hour, and while it wasn’t the most action packed experience, it was still a wonderful way for the girls to learn about seals and the things that threaten their natural environments. They love anything animal related and it’s great to be able to see and learn about animals that are not common to Australia.
If anyone is reading this and planning a trip of your own, there is an aquatic centre and adventure park with highropes course right next to the Seal Rescue Centre which could be an option to fill our your day in the area.
