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The socially responsible retail chain Lidl Lietuva contributes to the welfare of seal pups cared for at the Baltic Sea Animal Rehabilitation Centre. The company runs the initiative “High Five for a Seal,” through which more than €200,000 has already been raised to support the Lithuanian Sea Museum’s Baltic grey seal rehabilitation programme. For every reusable shopping bag made from recycled plastic that is purchased, €0.05 is donated to the museum.
The funds raised have helped to save more than 100 seal pups, to purchase tracking transmitters that allow researchers monitor the animals’ behaviour in the sea and to reduce the amount of plastic waste.
Each year, around 20 or more young seals are cared for at the museum’s rehabilitation centre. The treatment of a single seal pup costs about €1,200.
Part of the funds are also allocated to scientific monitoring — the data gathered from transmitters help assess the success of seal rehabilitation and the state of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea. Since the beginning of the project, more than 20 seals equipped with transmitters have been released back into the sea.