You Are Not Alone: Save Our Seals from Flying Rings Campaign

I will never forget the sadness in that little boy’s face.

Suede should never have been incarcerated in that little pen; he should have been free and out there being a wild seal. The truth was, he had to be there in the seal rescue centre as a flying ring had taken a devastating toll on his young body.

He merely thought it was an interesting object floating in the sea and wanted to investigate and play with it, but little did he know that his innocence and curiosity would become his nightmare.

That little face is a constant reminder, a motivator even, spurring me on to get rid of these misery-making flying rings being sold in vast quantities in Swansea, Gower and in fact across the United Kingdom. They become lodged around the neck of the seal, causing serious tissue damage, severe pain and inevitably, infection sets in – usually fatal if not treated.

As Vice Chair of the UK Seal Alliance Executive, we launched the ‘Save Our Seals from Flying Rings Campaign’ in an effort to raise awareness of the devastating injuries and suffering these items cause.

Will it be an easy road to success?

Definitely not.

We are under no illusion that this will take time and we certainly have that time BUT, our precious seals don’t.

Nobody buys a flying ring with the intention of harming wildlife; we recognise that. However, more and more of these lost or discarded flying rings are washing up on our shores.

Raising public awareness to retailers and potential purchasers is key.

Some retailers are supportive whilst others are not. I recall being told in no uncertain terms by an aggressive retailer selling these flying rings at The Gower Show to ‘leave’ his gazebo as he knew the damage they caused but couldn’t care less!

Thankfully, his less than diplomatic approach is not representative of our local retailers.

In complete contrast, my first approach to a retailer on Gower was received with a welcome offer of support which has continued ever since.

I won’t identify her, but thanks Tracey!

The fantastic news is that an immediate solution to the problem has been around since the 1930’s and that’s the solid disc frisbee. So we are not spoiling people’s fun or diminishing the well-earned profits of retailers, we are simply asking to switch from the flying ring to a seal-safe solid disc frisbee (preferably non-plastic).

Swansea Council were the first local authority in Wales to unanimously vote to support a voluntary ban on their sale and use. Their leadership has prompted other Councils to follow suit. It is my mission to secure the support of all 22 Unitary Authorities in Wales which if achieved, would make Wales the first country in the World to ban them. It’s very doable and not impossible.

Early on in the campaign’s creation we were contacted by Collette, the mother of a 10-year-old girl named Amaya.

Amaya has autism and severely struggles with life and is non-communicative. She has a companion dog and regularly visits the coast to beach clean. She heard about the devastating flying rings and wanted to help. Amaya designed one of our campaign posters as her contribution to stop seals suffering.

So, I now have two motivators – Suede, that little seal, and Amaya.

So, it begs the question how can you help?

There are three very easy steps you need to take to make a difference:

1. Choose to sell or purchase solid disc seal safe frisbees (preferably non-plastic)
2. Sign our petition to ban the sale of flying rings
3. Spread the word and share the petition link to everyone you know.

You may question whether your single signature on a petition can make a difference?

This is how I see it:

We at the UK Seal Alliance give our seals a voice and now it’s time to share that voice with YOU and ask YOU to support our campaign and petition. Every signature is another voice and that public voice is getting louder and stronger every day and it’s clearly saying, or rather shouting, that flying rings are unacceptable!

Every signature is another voice and that public voice is getting louder and stronger every day.

 So far, we have over 41,000 signatures or as I would describe them…voices!

Going back to that sad face I saw on that little seal, he was one of the few very lucky ones and made it through to being released back into the sea, his natural environment.

Little does that boy know, he has the support of Amaya and thousands of others to keep him and his many friends safe and out of harm’s way.

Please support our Campaign.

Thank You.

Save Our Seals from Flying Rings Campaign and Petition: https://chng.it/spqVVrdNPG

Gareth Richards

Gower Seal Group and UK Seal Alliance Executive