A seal pup had to be put to sleep following a suspected dog attack in north Norfolk - prompting a warning to owners.
The week-old female seal pup was discovered injured on Holkham beach and was taken in by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue on November 28.
The pup, who weighed 12.1kg, was found with puncture wounds to her face, head and flippers.
After being taken into the care of the RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre, the pup was x-rayed and found to have a fracture on her jaw.
The RSPCA said shoe prints were discovered where the injured seal pup was found - which has led to suspicions the attack was caused by a dog on a walk with its owner rather than another seal.
Evangelos Achilleos, manager of RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre in Norfolk, said: “While we cannot be certain as to what attacked this poor pup, it looks possible that this may well have been as a result of a dog attack.
"Over the last few years sadly we have found that we have had more pups coming into our care due to dogs attacking them.
“This poor pup’s jaw was so fractured it was not aligning, meaning her injuries were so bad that the kindest thing we could do was to put her to sleep to prevent her suffering further."
Mr Achilleos said these types of incidents could "easily be prevented" by ensuring dogs are kept on leads and not too close to seals.
He added: "We know that many dog owners do keep their dogs on a lead and we are very grateful to them, but we hope that by highlighting this sad incident it will help to educate others.
"We share our beaches with seals and must learn to respect nature and enjoy from a distance, and we should never interfere or get too close to them, especially if we have our dogs with us.
"The public are putting themselves, their dogs and the seals at risk.
"Adult seals are incredibly powerful wild animals and can give people - including children - a very nasty bite which could become infected by the bacteria that live in a seal’s mouth."
If people have observed a seal for at least 24 hours and are concerned about it, they have been urged to contact the RSPCA for advice on 0300 1234 999.
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