19/08/2026
Did you know the UK has different laws with regards to the protection of seals?
In the UK, seal protection and disturbance laws are devolved, meaning England and Scotland maintain different legal frameworks. For example, Scotland explicitly criminalizes the harassment of seals at designated haul-out sites.
It’s a different story in England which relies heavily on the Conservation of Seals Act 1970. There is no specific, direct statutory offense for general public or bystander-driven non-lethal disturbance (such as getting too close for a photograph or letting a dog run near a seal) on standard English beaches, though conservation groups continually lobby to close this legislative gap.
The Seal Alliance group are trying to change this by raising public awareness of the Give Seals Space Petition to gain support for legislative change.
Can you help? Please take a minute to sign the petition:-
https://www.change.org/p/give-seals-space
