Current state of knowledge of the extent, causes and population effects of unusual mortality events in Scottish seals. Marine Mammal Scientific Support Research Programme MMSS/001/11

This report describes the current state of knowledge regarding unusual mortality events in seals. It describes the geographical extent of reports and sightings of dead seals with characteristic spiral wounds and the limited information that we have on the history of this type of mortality in Scotland, in the UK and in the rest of the world. It describes the current view of the pathology, the possible causal mechanisms and describes the limited evidence available to confirm the causal mechanism.