Photo: Vancouver Aquarium

If you really do love animals, “leave those seal pups alone” — that’s the latest message from the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre.

The stern advice comes after an increase in strange and inappropriate human interference cases involving harbour seal pups this season, including a woman taking a pup and putting it in a bathtub and another feeding one a chicken drumstick.

Emily Johnson, assistant manager of the rescue centre, says there has been 11 seal pups admitted since the end of June that were impacted by human interference before being reported.

So far this year, 93 seals have been admitted to the rescue centre.

The list of inappropriate behaviour goes on: people have physically put pups back in the water; fed them other unnatural items like smoked oysters and cow’s milk, patted them on the head and hung them upside down by their flippers to take pictures.

Johnson said one well-meaning member of the public called a local wildlife centre to report an “orphaned” pup, and then, without waiting for a response, drove it to a local veterinary clinic and dropped it off.

“Another woman placed a pup in her bathtub before calling to report it, and one man scooped up two newborn seal pups in a couch cushion case, zipped them up, and put them in the backseat of his car next to his dog to drive them over to the Rescue Centre,” she said.

Johnson said some of these animals were in poor shape and did need to be rescued, but some of them did not.

“Once a pup has been removed from its natural environment, it makes it difficult to be reunited with mom, and then we have no choice but to rehabilitate them,” she said.

“That’s why it’s crucial for anyone who spots a pup on its own to leave it be, and to call the rescue centre.”

The number for the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre is 604-258-SEAL (7325). The hotline for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, another good option, is 1-800-465-4336.