Welsh Marine Life Rescue
| Abbreviation | WMLR |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1991 |
| Founder | Terry Leadbetter |
| Registration no. | 1083599 |
| Legal status | Charity |
| Purpose | Marine life rescue |
Region | Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire |
| Website | wmlr |
Welsh Marine Life Rescue (WMLR) is a British charity and voluntary organisation established in 1991, registered as a an official charity 23 November 2020. Dedicated to the care, rescue and rehabilitation of marine life across South West Wales. With the aim of relieving suffering of sick, injured, stranded or orphaned marine mammals.
The organisation is entirely funded by donations and relies on unpaid volunteers to respond to reports of and care for mammals in distress. Often tasked by the RSPCA to attend mammals found in destress and reported by members of the public, volunteers assess a mammals situation/condition. In the case of seals, it is often necessary to lift them for relocation or they are cared for in temporary facilities before being transferred to larger rescue centres for rehab and eventual release.
Areas of operation The South West Coast of Wales including: Pembrokeshire predominantly, Carmarthenshire occasionally, Ceredigion occasionally.
WMLR specialises in pinniped (seals), but will respond to distressed or stranded cetacean (porpoises, dolphins and whales) rescue, sea turtles, basking sharks, otters, injured or oiled sea birds and entangled marine mammals.
Milford Haven Seal Hospital[edit]
Opened in 1997 by WMLR co-ordinator Terry Leadbetter, Milford Haven’s iconic seal hospital started as a temporary base inside an old blue storage tank turned into an established seal sanctuary. Terry and his team of volunteers treated hundreds of ill, injured or abandoned animals over the years. The seal hospital released its last patient in early January 2014 before closing down due rising costs of fuel, fish and vets fees.[1]. Following the closure of the seal hospital the organisation now relies on facilities at volunteers homes to temporarily accommodate and care for rescued animals before transfer to larger rehab centres.
Media Coverage[edit]
WMLR volunteers were instrumental in the relocation of a seal eating fresh water salmon in a welsh river in 2004 [2]. A rare all black seal pup rescued from Newport Beach in 2009 [3]. In 2017 WMLR helped rescue 220 Manx shearwater[4], followed by another 100 in 2018[5]. Cleopatra Browne (WMLR Trustee and marine mammal medic) helped in the rescue of a stranded common dolphin at Goodwick, Fishguard in February 2021.[6]
The organisation was the subject of widespread media coverage in April 2021 when an Arctic walrus was spotted near Broad Haven South on the South Pembrokeshire coast[7]. WMLR volunteers monitored "Wally" the walrus during its visit to Pembrokeshire[8]. The walrus spent weeks hauled out on the RNLI Tenby Lifeboat Station slipway, fishing off the Tenby coast[9]
External links[edit]
- WMLR homepage
- WMLR Facebook page
- WMLR JustGiving page
- WMLR Instagram
- Charity Commission. Welsh Marine Life Rescue, registered charity no. 1083599. Search this book on
References[edit]
- ↑ "Milford waves goodbye to seal sanctuary". The Milford Mercury. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ↑ "River hunt for hungry seal". BBC NEWS. 21 January 2004. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ↑ "Black Atlantic grey seal rescued from Newport Beach by Welsh Marine Life Rescue". Western Telegraph. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ↑ "100 storm-stranded manx shearwaters rescued from Pembrokeshire coast". Western Telegraph. 22 September 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ↑ "West Wales rescue efforts helped 220 Manx shearwater". RSPCA News. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ↑ "Dolphin stranded at low tide at Goodwick Harbour is rescued". BBC News. 12 February 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ↑ "Walrus spotted in Wales, days after one seen off Ireland". BBC NEWS. 20 March 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ↑ "What can Cornwall learn from Wally's Welsh trip?". BBC NEWS. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ↑ "'Wally' the Arctic walrus returns to Tenby after vanishing over Easter". ITV NEWS. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
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