Seal sting in tail: a fine of € 480 | Abroad

480 € A dog owner should cough because his dog attacked a seal, encouraged it and certainly did not stop it. The facts go back to last year, but the fine was imposed recently. It was an Ostend police officer who saw in the Klein Strand in Ostend how a man encouraged his dog to approach a seal.

The dog ran loose and eventually rotated the seal – which was trying to defend itself – into the tail. The Walker took no step to contact his dog to request the order, Nieuwsblad reports.

A place to hangout

The area around the western pier is a popular resting place for seals. So Ostend City Council put up signs and told pedestrians to leave the animals alone and stay at least twenty meters away from them. “But that man with his dog disrupted the seal peace,” police said. “He bit his tail and may have been injured. So it was a matter of deliberately and purposefully disrupting the seal.”

The Ostend Police Environmental Enforcement Department made an official report. The perpetrator was fined 480 euros. “This is a clear signal and can be seen as a boost to the North Seal volunteers,” police said. “Day after day they are committed to ensuring the peace of the seals. We will also watch for pedestrians and other beach visitors who disturb the animals’ comfort.”