"Abandoned" baby seals

[Nicholas the Kayaker]

I'm told that BSAC has published guidance about the circumstances under which you should (despite the normal "don't touch" rule) take a baby seal to a seal sanctuary, and about what food to give a baby seal if you get stuck with it.
Does anybody know where I could find official advice about that?
Nicholas

(PS A few years ago on Skye I did find one, backed off right away and watched it from a long way off for two hours and then took it the vet, who was initially a bit grumpy about being woken up at 10.30 at night but then said I'd done the right thing as the baby had never fed and was about to die of dehydration and hyporthermia... probably because the mother had no milk. but possibly also because it was in a very inaccessible spot where mum might not have been able to get to it. In the seal sanctuary, it put on 10.6 kilos in 24 hours and 30 days later it was reintroduced to its clan area).

[PeteM]

Best people to speak to would be the British Divers Marine Life Rescue as they are pretty much the expects in this field
http://www.bdmlr.org.uk/

[Rod Bateman]

The advice is:-

If you find a live seal
Watch it from a distance. Do not approach the animal. Seals regularly haul out on our coasts - it is part of their normal behaviour. Therefore, finding a seal on the beach does not mean there is necessarily a problem. A healthy seal should be left well alone.

However, if there is a problem, there are a number of things you may see:

Abandoned: If you see a seal with a white, long-haired coat in the autumn/winter, or you see a small seal (less than 3 feet in length) alone between June and August, then it is probably still suckling from its mother. Check the sea regularly for any sign of an adult seal.
Thin: Signs of malnutrition include visible ribs, hips and neck and perhaps a rather baggy, wrinkled skin.
Sick: Signs of ill health include : coughing, sneezing or noisy, rapid breathing and possibly thick mucus coming from the nose, wounds or swellings, particularly on the flippers, and possibly favouring one flipper when moving (although remember that healthy seals will often lie and ‘hunch along’ on their sides) cloudy eyes, or thick mucus around them, or possibly one eye kept closed most of the time a seal showing little response to any disturbance going on around it (although remember they could be soundly asleep).
If you see a seal that may be abandoned, thin or ill, then call for advice and assistance:

BDMLR hotline: 01825 765546
RSPCA hotline: 0300 1234 999

You will receive further advice over the phone. If there is a problem with the animal, there are some important things you can do to help:

Provide information: Give the hotline an accurate description of the seal and its exact location. If at all possible, stay on the beach to guide the rescue team to the animal. This can save valuable and perhaps critical time. If you have a mobile, give the number to the hotline.
Control disturbance: Stop other people and their animals from approaching the seal, because - if it is a seal pup that is still suckling, then approaching the pup could threaten the mother-pup bond and the pup may be abandoned seals will react if approached too closely and are capable of inflicting a nasty bite - even the smallest pup can cause serious injury and this is even more of a risk with adults.
Prevent small seals from entering the sea: Stand between a pup and the sea and, if necessary, use a board or similar object to restrain it. Under no circumstances, attempt this with adult seals, as you could leave yourself open to injury. You should avoid handling a seal pup at all costs, for the same reason. Under no circumstances allow anybody to push the seal back in the sea. A pup still suckling is a poor swimmer and an older animal may be hauled out for good reason.

[Nicholas the Kayaker]

Thank you for that, your advice is very helpful and to the point.
I will bear it in mind personally, and unless anybody has any objection, I'll mention it on my sea kayaking website
Nicholas