Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary

18/06/2026

What a handsome boy! Smudge has finally completed his annual moult, an uncomfortable experience, but worth it when you see his smart new coat. He’s a much livelier seal now and his appetite is back.

14/06/2026

The wonderful Linda Gray is opening Lea Gardens to the public for ONE day this summer…and she’s raising funds for our peerie wildlife sanctuary! An opportunity not to be missed for garden (and wildlife) lovers. Thankyou Linda! xx

🌿 Exciting News! 🌿

I’m delighted to share that Lea Gardens will be opening to the public for one special day this summer!

Join us from 12pm–4pm on Sunday 21st June for a fundraising open garden in support of the Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary.

Come and enjoy the beauty of the gardens, learn more about the incredible work of the sanctuary, and help support the care and rehabilitation of Shetland’s wildlife.

Whether you're a garden lover, wildlife enthusiast, or simply looking for a peaceful afternoon out, we would love to welcome you.

🌿 All proceeds will go to the Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary.
🌿 Everyone welcome.

We look forward to seeing you there! 💚

13/06/2026

Fortunately in Shetland we don’t have to deal with flying rings…our seals get caught in abandoned fishing net, especially monofilament net used by those European fishing boats that anger the local fleet as well as cause harm to marine wildlife. Still worth signing the petition.

🦭 Seals need your help!

⚠️ Gareth Richards and Jenny Hobson will be visiting Parliament NEXT WEEK - on the 17th June, to meet MPs in relation to the "Save Our Seals from Flying Rings" Campaign.

✍️ This campaign has accrued to date 60,959 petition signatures, which really is phenomenal, but we need as many signatures as possible to bolster our chances of gaining support from MPs!

⚠️ Please push this petition as hard as you possibly can for the next seven days!

👉️ Link to petition: https://www.change.org/SaveOurSealsFromFlyingRings

👉️ Visit the Campaign page: https://tinyurl.com/FBFlyingRings

👉️ Help yourself to Free Resources here: https://tinyurl.com/FlyingRingsResources

🤝 Together we can help seals and stop the suffering!

12/06/2026

Does anyone know of a portacabin for sale in Shetland?

11/06/2026

Please support this campaign, our marine wildlife needs all the help it can get.

Today, we launched our report “Hidden in the Haul: The true scale of bycatch”, exposing the devastating impact bycatch is having on UK marine wildlife.

Bycatch is when marine life is accidentally caught during fishing operations – and our report exposes the size of the problem.

The figures are alarming, every year fishing boats in the UK are catching:
▪ Over 10,000 seabirds
▪ More than 1,000 cetaceans
▪ Around 500 seals
▪ Over 120 tonnes of protected sharks, skates and rays
▪ More than 1,000 endangered Atlantic salmon

But due to limited monitoring and reporting, the data we have are likely the tip of the iceberg.

Bycatch is causing immense suffering to marine wildlife, depleting vulnerable populations and undermining efforts to recover our oceans. It also threatens the UK’s ability to meet legally binding environmental targets for healthy seas. Urgent action is needed accelerate measures to reduce and ultimately eliminate bycatch in UK seas and to improve monitoring and reporting.

Read the report to find out more: https://action.wildlifetrusts.org/page/192372/action/1?ea.tracking.id=Cornwall%20Seal%20Group%20RT

Seal photo – Amee Fairbank Brown

01/06/2026

Smudge had a busy day today with more than 100 people arriving in Hillswick off the National Geographic Explorer cruise liner along with terrestrial visitors from Europe and Britain. As usual, he took it all in his stride.

28/05/2026

A busy day at the sanctuary with Nicola Dunkin and her colleagues from Oil Spill Response Ltd who have been in Shetland running a two day oil spill response exercise and helped clean Smudge’s pool…followed by these teenagers from the Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Oregon who helped try out some costumes (see https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2026/05/28/giants-ready-walk-sand-ninians/) and shift some scaffolding…

…and of course met Smudge the seal as he continues to refuse to take food from the hand, which we want him to do so we can give him medicine should we need to…

…and the Sun came out for the second day running!!! Best not to look at the forecast though.

27/05/2026

Someone left their selkie skin at the sanctuary last Sunday. This hand-knitted woollen sleeve goes with the hand-knitted selkiewife created by Alison Riley. If it belongs to you, please get in touch.

11/05/2026

We are over the moon to be able to report that Smudge is eating again! He went off his food about three weeks ago after he fell ill and started producing a lot of phlegm from his mouth. Gradually he went off his food and stopped eating for almost two whole weeks. He would chomp on a fish, but never swallow anything. It reminded us of when he first arrived and refused to swallow. We were extremely concerned as seals get their fluid intake from the fish they eat, so there is a risk of dehydration. We were feeding him herring as we thought we had run out of mackerel, but then we found some, threw it into his pool and were delighted when he livened up and ate some. Our euphoria was short-lived when he stopped eating the mackerel as well. After vet visits and phone consultations we came to the conclusion that maybe the problem was in his throat, so we chopped up the fish and took the bones out. And lo and behold, he started wolfing down the pieces of mackerel. We're still cutting the fish up, but now we're leaving the bones in too. So Smudge seems to be on the mend. He's not 100 per cent yet, but hopefully he is now heading in the right direction. Good ol' Smudge, we do love you!

11/05/2026

Here are some photos of Smudge when he was found 18 months ago on the West Voe beach. All washed up and nowhere to go…except Hillswick. Check out the last bit of white fur on his snout that inspired his name.

Thanks for the photos (and the wonderful name), Isla.