Covid: Skegness Natureland seal sanctuary faces 'make or break' summer

Natureland rescues orphaned and injured seals and relies on visitors for its main source of income

A seal sanctuary hit by a loss of revenue amid the Covid-19 pandemic faces a "make or break" summer season.

Natureland in Skegness, which opened in 1965, rescues orphaned and injured seals, with each costing about £2,000 to rehabilitate.

The attraction lost its main source of income when lockdown restrictions forced it to close to visitors for the first time in its history.

Manager Matt Yeadon said it was relying on a successful summer to survive.

"It's quite scary to think about," he said.

"We haven't ever closed before this point, so having to do it for so long through three lockdowns has obviously been pretty dire on our finances."

Visitors would normally be able to see the seals in the purpose-built pools

Mr Yeadon said the centre relied on the income generated by visitors and donations to pay its costs.

"Without people coming through the doors we've simply not had any money going into the bank account," he said.

"It has really put a stop to our finances."

Mr Yeadon said the attraction had also been unable to access the government's Zoo Animals Fund but had made use of the furlough scheme in a bid to retain staff.

Each seal costs about £2,000 to rehabilitate so it is able to be released

The sanctuary was started by Mr Yeadon's grandfather, who had originally wanted to launch a marine zoo.

"But within the first year somebody brought him a baby seal off the beach and that kind of sculpted the direction, really," Mr Yeadon said.

"From there it has been three generations of the Yeadon family running it."

Closure would potentially leave "60-70 seals a year without any help", he added.

"We just have to try and keep going."

The centre is currently posting updates on its social media pages so people can still see the seals and check on their progress.

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