WATCH: Jack Russell Terrier attacks ‘resting’ seal on beach

Yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, February 21) a seal was spotted resting on Calday Beach in Birkenhead.

At around 2.46pm a concerned member of the public alerted the British Divers Marine Life Rescue.

However, before medics could arrive to assist, a nearby dog walker who was walking a Jack Russell Terrier started to chase and attack the seal.

A Jack Russell Terrier could be seeing chasing the seal along Calday Beach (Image: Newsquest)

Trustee from the Seal Welfare Organisation and Northwest Coordinator for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, Christopher Cureton, told the Globe: “Myself and another medic arrived on the scene in 15 minutes after the first call.

“We thought it was just going to be a case of a seal that had come up on the shore.

“When we got there the seal was heading out to the water and the tide was dropping so we were unable to get to it but it was moving well and looked healthy.”

Chris and his colleague observed the seal until it reached the water and started to swim back out.

Following the incident, Chris was made aware of a video that showed what had happened to the seal just moments before he arrived at the beach.

The dog could be seen circling the seal (Image: Newsquest)

Chris said: “The woman has no control over her dog whatsoever. She doesn’t seem to have any remorse toward the seal either.

“The seal was clearly distressed from being attacked by the Jack Russell and was caused further stress by the fact another person and their dog came over. The seal would have been stressed to the max surrounded by so many people and animals.”

READ: Seal rescued after found ‘resting’ on New Brighton beach

Following the incident, Chris is warning dog owners to keep their pets on leads if they come across any marine wildlife on the beach.

He said: “If any dog walkers have any suspicion that there is a seal anywhere near then they should immediately put their dog on a lead and avoid the area where the seal is.

“The reason that seal is on the beach is because seals all over the marine spend approximately a third of their life on land digesting, and thermoregulating, and if you disrupt that process it upsets all their biorhythms.

“There’s a reason seals need somewhere to haul out to rest.”

Seal sightings are more common around coastal areas with the fined mammals often being spotted on beaches across the borough. On Sunday, the Globe reported that a seal pup was guided back to safety by members of the marine rescue team after it had washed up on Thurstaston beach.

READ: 'Gorgeous' seal washes up on Thurstaston Beach

However, due to this, Chris says seal attacks are becoming increasingly common.

He said: “We take dog disturbances very seriously because it’s one of the major problems for seals around the UK.”

“We get a lot of seals around pupping season with puncture wounds and heavily inflamed rear flippers from dogs attacking them and it usually turns out to be terminal. It’s really sad and it’s an increasing problem we’re seeing.”