Lenie ‘t Hart has been rehabilitating sick and injured seals since the centre was founded in Pieterburen in 1971. The centre has evolved from a simple ‘crèche’ for young seals to a scientific research-based seal hospital, with accompanying facilities such as quarantines, a laboratory, a chemist and all the research equipment imaginable. All rehabilitated seals are released into the wild after their rehabilitation period, which lasts from several weeks to a maximum of several months. None of the animals remain in captivity and none of the seals are bred.
In 2004, the SRRC was the first animal rehabilitation centre to obtain an ISO 9001-2000 quality certificate. This means that it guarantees a transparent and well-organized management and serves as a guarantee for the quality of the SRRC’s work. The most important work in the SRRC is the daily care and medical treatment of the seals. This is the main concern of all the vets and seal-carers. It doesn’t matter whether the patients are baby seals, sick or injured seals; every animal receives maximum attention and everything is done to rehabilitate the seals, so that they are strong and healthy and able to return to their own habitat, the sea, as soon as possible.
Our expertise, through direct contact with the rehabilitated seals and our experience with the problems that the seals in the sea are facing, have laid the foundation for extensive scientific research. I recent years, much scientific research has been undertaken by the SRRC in cooperation with different Dutch and foreign research institutes. Every year, the two SRRC-biologists carry out various projects and oversee research projects performed by students and interns, who work at the SRRC for several weeks or months.
There are guided tours around the SRRC’s visitor centre where you can see the seals being rehabilitated. There also is a permanent exhibition and we show informative films, in order to inform as many people as possible about the SRRC’s work and the problems facing the seals and their habitat. There are always SRRC- workers available on the floor. They can answer most questions.
In this way, the SRRC offers the public an opportunity to learn about the problems facing the seals and their habitat and shows what the SRRC is doing to improve the situation every day of the year.
