(NECN: Marnie MacLean) - Maine's only seal rehabilitation center is closing, leaving marine rescue groups scrambling to figure out how to help injured and abandoned animals.
The University of New England announced last Friday that it was closing its Marine Animal Rehabilitation and Conservation program to focus on more robust programs like aquaculture and fisheries management. UNE feels those areas will offer more jobs for students than marine animal rehabilitation. UNE also says the seal population has rebounded significantly, reducing the need for a rehab facility.
The news came as a surprise to rescue groups in Maine that rely on the program. A few seals can go to the aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, but once those spots are filled, rescue groups in Maine will have few options.
According to Lynda Doughty of Marine Animals of Maine, "If there's not an organization or a place to take them to or respond to these animals they will pass on their own or we have to euthanize the animal. Those are becoming the facts of what our options are."
The timing of the closure is also challenging because May and June are the busiest months of the year. In the past two weeks, Marine Mammals of Maine says they've responded to 24 calls for stranded seal pups.
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