Saving sea life

SINCE it was given permission to collect washed up marine animals from the coasts of Almeria by the Junta de Andalucia regional government’s Environmental department, Equinac association’s volunteers have become the marine fauna’s best friends in the province.

So far this year, Equinac coordinator Eva Moron has reported, volunteers have been called out to collect a total of 70 animals, mainly turtles and dolphins.

However the volunteers, whose final goal is to help as many animals as possible recover and return them to the sea, often complain that those who find them on the beaches have no idea what to do and can often cause more harm than good.

Moron explained: “the best thing to do is to call 112. They get straight in touch with us and our volunteers contact the person who made the report to instruct them directly.”

It is important not to handle the animals more than necessary, and then only following experts’ instructions, and to avoid taking selfies or stressing them by allowing them to be crowded by people, explained the Equinac representative.