Lauren Isaacs5 December 2024 | 9:23

Bitou Municipality says beaches safe for recreation despite discovery of rabies in Cape Fur seals

Plettenberg Bay, a popular holiday destination, has this year had four confirmed cases of rabies and one suspected case among a population of approximately 8,000 seals.

Bitou Municipality says beaches safe for recreation despite discovery of rabies in Cape Fur seals

FILE: A Cape Fur Seal sunbathes on the deserted quay at Kalk Bay Harbour in Cape Town on April 14, 2020. Picture: RODGER BOSCH/AFP

CAPE TOWN - The Bitou Municipality says its beaches remain safe for recreational use despite the recent discovery of rabies in Cape Fur seals.
 
In June, a rabies outbreak was detected in South African Cape fur seals, a species in which rabies had not been previously recorded.
 
Plettenberg Bay, a popular holiday destination, has this year had four confirmed cases of rabies and one suspected case among a population of approximately 8,000 seals.
 
The municipality has since been involved in a national rabies-response workshop and has put systems in place for quick and safe seal carcass removals.
 
Senior marine field ranger for CapeNature and coordinator of the Plett Marine Animal Stranding Network, Chanel Visser: "It's very important to minimise the risk of exposure to rabies, so it is crucial to avoid any interaction with seals, whether alive or deceased. Rabies is a contagious and fatal virus disease of mammals transmissable through saliva."
 
The municipality has temporarily amended the dogs-on-beaches by-law to ensure that dogs remain leashed at all times on Plett beaches, to avoid the possibility of a seal encounter.