Seal found in a Victorian cattle farmer’s paddock is euthanised: Australia

A lost seal that mysteriously turned up in a cattle farmer’s paddock 35km from the coast has sadly had to be euthanised.

Melbourne Zoo announced they would keep an eye on the wayward creature after it was first found on Monday in Simpson, a small town inland of Victoria’s south coast.

However, the facility’s Head Veterinarian Dr Michael Lynch said the seal needed to be put down on Thursday after suffering significant injuries while trying to get back to the ocean.

‘Today’s intervention was required after the seal failed to find a way back to the open ocean along the same path it used to arrive at the farm,’ he said.

‘On assessment the seal was found to be elderly, and suffering from blindness in one eye and dental fractures. 

‘It was determined that euthanasia was the kindest welfare outcome as the seal would have been unable to forage and live naturally in the wild.’

The zoo previously advised people avoid making contact with the seal in the hopes it would follow the same path it took to the farm, back to the water. 

Video of the seal waddling around in the paddock first appeared on social media on Tuesday. 

The odd footage showed it wiggling in the wet grass while the confused cattle stood back and stared. 

A video online showed the seal wiggling in the grass in front of a group of shocked cows (above)

Following an earlier seal’s appearance inland, Aaron Machado from Australian Marine Wildlife Research Rescue said seal sightings away from the water are common around this time of year.

‘For an animal that small, when you walk 50metres away from the water, you turn around and you can’t see the water anymore, so they just keep walking,’ he told 3AW.

‘They quite often will go quite a distance from water to relax.’