Seal rabies now endemic, says City

Rabies in Cape fur seals should now be considered endemic and is unlikely to ever be eradicated, says the City, following a two-day workshop on “unprovoked seal aggression” last month.

Various marine-mammal experts and veterinarians attended the workshop at the Two Oceans Aquarium, held by the City in collaboration with the aquarium, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and Sea Search.

The workshop follows a series of confirmed cases of rabies in Cape fur seals with five cases confirmed by the end of June (“Five confirmed rabies cases in seals, says City,” Sentinel, June 28), but the City’s coastal management manager Gregg Oelofse said on Wednesday August 7 that: “We are aware of 17 confirmed cases of rabies in seals.”

He added: “What’s important to note is that we can’t prevent rabies in seals anymore, we can’t get it out the seal population so we have to manage and monitor the rabies cases in perpetuity. We’ve never had rabies in seals before, but now this is the reality.

“We’ve been seeing more unprovoked seal attacks, the last incident was in May. We’ve also heard about seal bites in Muizenberg and Fish Hoek.”

Only the relevant authorities, such as the SPCA and the City, were permitted to euthanise rabid seals, he said.

No seals would be culled in light of the rabies scare, he said.

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA’s chief inspector, Jaco Pieterse, and wildlife department supervisor Jon Friedman both attended the workshop.

“The workshop was indicative of the issue of rabies in seals receiving the attention it deserves. I enjoyed really good conversations with and talks by knowledgeable international experts. The highlight for me was that it should be a co-ordinated way forward,” said Mr Friedman

The City said aggression in seals should be considered normal, but excessive aggression associated with unusual behaviour was not normal and was directly linked to the rabies virus in some Cape fur seals.

“Rabies appears to be well-established in the Cape fur seal population and is unlikely to be eradicable and should now be considered endemic requiring ongoing and long-term management by coastal authorities.

“Initial indications are that rabies was transmitted to seals from another wildlife population and not from local domestic dogs,” the City said.

It added that the Two Oceans Aquarium would develop a standard procedure for vaccinating seals, including dosage and injection options.

“Vaccinated seals should be tagged to allow repeat identification and follow-up vaccination,” the City said.

However, a Hout Bay resident who regularly visits the harbour said seals were still being fed by the public despite the rabies scare and despite it being illegal (“Rabies scare fails to keep public aware from seals,” Sentinel, June 21).

“There hasn’t been a difference since the rabies scare. The seals are still being fed right in front of security and SAPS patrols. I don't think either party is clever enough to understand that the seals are a danger or that taking money from tourists to feed them or pose with them is illegal,” said the man, who does not want to be named as he fears victimisation from those making money from feeding seals.

Mr Oelofse said the seal petting at the harbour remained a problem.

“We want to remind the public that posing for photos or petting a seal is illegal, and they are breaking the law. We’ve tried to stop this problem for years. It’s not wise to feed the seals as some were reported as obese. We are appealing to the public to please stop any engagements,” he said.

Ward councillor Roberto Quintas said: “There should be no interaction with seals at any time as per marine wildlife legislation. Any interaction should be discouraged at all times, regardless of rabies scares or not.”

Last month, the Hout Bay Seal and Rescue Rehabilitation Centre reported that it was seeing a sharp increase in the number of injured Cape fur seals (“Spike in number of injured seals, says support group,” Sentinel, July 5).