A young seal has been found dead, tangled in a fishing net months after being released into the wild.
The grey seal, named Carrom, was discovered alongside another seal wrapped tightly in the old netting along with small sharks and fish.
Both animals are believed to have suffered before dying.
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The pup was rescued by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue and taken in by the RSPCA.
Staff care for him at their Mallydams Wood Wildlife Centre, near Hastings, East Sussex, in January.
Arriving as a sick pup, he spent 11 weeks in care, where he gained weight, learned to hunt, and charmed staff with his curious and playful personality.
He was released back into the wild in March and was even spotted again in September, looking healthy and thriving.
An RSPCA spokesperson said: “Carrom was a seal that was quite special to our rehabilitation team at Mallydams, as he was incredibly curious and playful, by himself and with other seals.
“He was released back into the wild in March 2025, and was spotted by one of our wildlife assistants on the coast in late September – over six months later – thriving and looking very healthy and still playful and silly.
“We are devastated to have heard that any animal has faced this fate, but it stings a little bit more knowing him and how much he deserved his freedom and life.”
Experts believe the seals may have drowned after becoming trapped beneath the surface or could have died slowly from starvation if the net prevented them from feeding.
They were found at Broomhill Sands, East Sussex, on October 29, as reported by NeedtoKnow.
The RSPCA said that the tragic deaths highlight the dangers of fishing litter.
A spokesperson added: “The death of Carrom the seal was such a tragedy and so avoidable.
“Sadly we see far too many incidents involving animals injured or even killed following entanglement in old fishing litter. “
As well as everyday rubbish, many animals arrive into our care with terrible injuries caused by litter such as discarded fishing line, hooks and netting.
Around 34% of all litter-related calls to the RSPCA last year were about animals that had specifically become caught in fishing litter, out of a total 2,199 reports made to us about animals affected by all kinds of litter last year.
“These hazards can very quickly become a matter of life or death for animals and action is urgently needed to tackle this problem head-on.
“It’s up to every one of us to do our bit in the war against litter.”
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