Derry swimmer shocked by seal shooting at Greencastle

A Derry sea-swimmer has spoken of her distress at learning the seal befriended by tourists visiting the Inishowen fishing village of Greencastle, fishermen, and the wider community has been shot dead.

The young woman who swims at nearby Moville and wished to remain anonymous, told The Derry News she had first become aware of the “wee seal” at Christmas.

“I saw photographs of him on social media. He had become entangled in fishing netting and was unable to use one of his flippers,” she explained.

“Thankfully he was freed by a local fisherman Liam O’Brien, who built up the seal’s trust by feeding him fish. Liam was then able to remove the netting which had trapped Zig’s flipper and left him with large lacerations on his neck.

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“The wee seal was named after Zig from Zig and Zag - the puppets on RTÉ’s Dempsey’s Den. I am just so shocked and sad and angry and that someone could shoot such a beautiful animal dead. He was a great tourist attraction in Greencastle who just lifted everyone’s heart,” she added.

Speaking to The Derry News, Liam O’Brien said Zig was approximately nine or ten months at Christmastime.

Skipper Liam O'Brien feeding Zig herring in Greencastle Harbour.

“We sent some photographs of him to the Portaferry Seal Sanctuary in County Down and that was their estimate of his age. At that time he couldn’t fend for himself because one of his flippers was completely caught in the netting.

“Normally a lot of wee seals come into the harbour and I would feed them. They come in for sanctuary in the winter - we feed them the herring and they are getting a staple diet from us on the boats. Come breeding time, they disappear, they move out of the harbour. One of those seals was known as Bosco and the fishermen tracked him the whole way down the coast to Glengad.

“Originally there were two young seals in the harbour and the people following them on social media named them Zig and Zag.

“Zag eventually went away with the colony when the herring fell back and Zig had been here ever since.

WATCH: Inishowen fisherman Liam O'Brien, speaking to @DerryNow about the recent shocking shooting dead of Zig, the popular wee Greencastle harbour seal, who was befriended by tourists from Derry, local fishers, and the wider community pic.twitter.com/XtxJPtoNgA

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“So then a bond developed between Zig and the rest of the fishermen here in Greencastle who were feeding him bait herring. Everybody loved Zig.

“The children would come down to the harbour, young ones coming from Derry and all over, families, to see Zig. He was a great boost to local tourism.

“He was a blessing here because he was drawing people here and it is unfortunate the dirty deed was done,” said Liam, who said the photographs proved very clearly Zig was shot.

Zig and Liam's dog Joey on Greencastle Pier.

The photographs have also been given to the local Garda.

Liam added: “On Tuesday last week, I attended him at the pier. The boys coming in that afternoon fed him too.

“He never came back after Wednesday, so we are taking it, with the amount of
decomposition on the body, we think he was shot down at the back of the pier, between the breakwater and the main pier, in the water, we think on Wednesday.

The bullet wound on the Zig the dead Greencastle harbour seal.

“Everybody here is talking about it,” said Liam. “It is an offence because mammals are protected under the Wildlife Acts 1976-2012.

“Down in Clogher Head in County Louth, or in Howth, were there are Harbour Seals, you would not dare to harm a seal. This should not have happened in Greencastle. It is heartbreaking.”