Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary

Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary was founded in 1987 by Jan Bevington, a local pub owner, after discovering a premature seal pup washed up on the beach outside her home in Hillswick, Shetland. Her decision to care for the pup quickly snowballed: by the end of that summer, she was looking after seven seals, and word of her efforts had spread across the islands.

The sanctuary gained national attention during the 1993 Braer oil spill disaster, when Jan and her team were thrust into coordinating emergency care for seals and otters affected by the spill, while also managing volunteers and media interest. This pivotal moment helped establish Hillswick as a vital institution in Shetland’s environmental response network.

Today, Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary remains the only seal hospital in the Shetland Islands. It specializes in the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of sick, injured, and abandoned seals and otters, and also assists in cetacean strandings along Shetland’s 1,700-mile coastline. Despite initial skepticism from parts of the local fishing community, Hillswick has earned widespread respect for its expert care and dedication to marine wildlife.

The sanctuary is housed in a historic waterfront building that once served as a Hanseatic trading post and later a knitwear factory, pub, and vegetarian café. Recent upgrades include new seal pools with a direct pipeline to the sea, and improved enclosures funded by grants from the Shetland Islands Council and local oil industry. Beyond its rescue work, Hillswick runs a small visitor center and gift shop featuring locally made crafts, knitwear, and wildlife photography.