Cape Town - The demand for seal meat is growing on the black market and vets have warn of the dangers of consuming it and the risk of being bitten by a seal.
Earlier this year, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA revealed that the meat was being used by traditional healers following an incident where a seal was beaten by a group of men.
This month, the City’s Law Enforcement Marine and Environmental unit caught a man in the act of harvesting a seal on the beach along Baden Powell close to Strandfontein.
The seal had been cut into pieces, its flesh dissected and its fur removed.
The suspect confirmed to law enforcement that there was a thriving black market for seal meat. He was arrested and charged under the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act (Nemba) for being in possession of an animal on the Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) list.
Allan Perrins, the resource development and communications officer for the Animal Welfare Society of South Africa, said seal meat posed health risks if consumed as it contained bacteria.
He added that in another incident the testicles of a seal were going to be sold on the black market at a high price.
“In South Africa, seals are a protected species. As such they may not be caught or hunted and slaughtered for human consumption,” he explained.
“It is also not legal for anyone to pick up a dead seal off the beach to eat it.
“Offenders can be charged in terms of the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act (Nemba) and any acts of cruelty the Animals Protection Act (APA) No. 71 of 1962, and we would hope that the conservation authorities come down hard on offenders.
“The last time I was personally involved in a case involving seals it was an investigation into the illegal sale of seal testicles that fetch a high price on the black market as they are considered by some cultures to be an aphrodisiac.
“Being semi-aquatic mammals that need to come ashore to rest and moult from time to time puts them at risk of people and very definitely those involved in the illicit black market trade where anything goes.
“In our opinion the economics of seal hunting vs seal watching make their conservation an economic imperative.
“We would strongly discourage anyone, no matter how desperate, to refrain from eating meat from dubious sources as they are potentially placing their health at risk.
“Eating a potentially contaminated carcass of a seal is tantamount to courting disaster.”
Perrins said if attacked by a seal, you would need medical attention: “Seal bites are very dangerous as their mouths contain bacteria which are resistant to most antibiotics, so even an accidental tooth snag can have serious and rapid consequences for those working with these wild animals who otherwise present very little risk to people.”
Belinda Abraham, the communications manager for the Cape of Good Hope SPCA, said her team had dealt with the shocking incident where a defenceless seal was attacked in January on Monwabisi beach and that they had heard of the meat being used by traditional healers.
“This is the first time we have heard of a demand for seal meat. Our experience thus far relates to seals parts or products being used by some traditional healers,” she added.
Four suspects were taken into custody, who told the SPCA that they had tried to kill the seal because they had been approached by a traditional healer and offered a price of R3 000.
They were charged in terms of the Animals Protection Act as well as charges of hunting a protected species without a permit, which is an offence under the Threatened or Protected Marine Species (TOPS) Regulations of 2017.
The wounded seal had to be euthanised.