What is the seal hospital like?

We thoroughly check medically every seal that comes in. The admission of new patients therefore takes place in a special intake room. Here, the vets and nurses have everything at hand to conduct the first check of a seal. This room should not be too close to the enclosures, as we do not yet know whether new seals carry infectious diseases or not.

If it turns out that a seal has a contagious disease, it should not come near other animals. That is why we have spaces where sick animals can rest separately. We also call this the quarantine units. We can close these enclosures, so that as few viruses or bacteria as possible enter and exit.

We distinguish three phases in the rehabilitation of a seal. The veterinarians determine in which phase a seal goes. This depends on the amount of care the animal needs. The phases are all separated from each other, so that we can prevent infections between them.

We have a special kitchen where we prepare all meals for the seals. Here si where the fish (porridge) is defrosted. The fish porridge is mixed with water and fish portions are made for the seals. Furthermore, all the necessary material is prepared for the feedings.

When feeding the seals, the nurses are very close to the animals and of course, the material to feed the animals also comes into close contact. This makes the risk of contamination greater than usual. Therefore, the kitchen should always be clean. Thus, we clean it several times a day.

Our surgery room is equipped to perform all kinds of surgeriess and medical checks. In this way, we offer the best care possible. Our experienced vets and nurses can anesthetize, operate and wake seals up. In some operations, they are assisted by experts from outside the center.

Have you ever wondered how we keep the water in the pools clean? We have a water purification installation for this. We work with a 'closed system' in our filtration system. This means that we reuse all pool water. In addition, the pool water continuously circulates through multiple filtration tanks to maintain a high quality of the water. We use tap water to which salt has been added.

The water flows from the pools via the drain through a number of filters. Here, all larger particles (poo, broken fish, leaves) are removed. Finally, it goes to a carbon filter. Carbon is very good at absorbing tiny impurities. After that, the water is very clean! So clean, that it no longer has enough minerals. Therefore, before the water goes back into the pools, salt is added. We also add a little bit of chlorine to disinfect the water. The seals are not bothered by this.