All Posts
A Practical Solution for Safer Seal Releases

A Practical Solution for Safer Seal Releases

Wildlife transport isn’t part of McKinstry’s typical scope, but when a McKinstry employee’s volunteer work with SeaLife Response, Rehabilitation + Research (SR3) revealed a clear need, the company’s fabrication team stepped in to deliver a practical solution that’s now improving seal releases.

For nonprofit SR3, every detail matters when returning a recovered animal to the wild, especially the final moments before release. Moving large seal carriers across uneven beaches is physically demanding for volunteers and stressful for the animals. McKinstry sheet metal foreman and longtime SR3 volunteer, Harrison Mott, helped champion the effort to make the process gentler, safer and more efficient. Through his volunteer work, Mott saw firsthand the challenges of transporting the heavy carriers and recognized an opportunity to apply McKinstry’s fabrication expertise to a real-world problem. He brought the idea to his fellow sheet metal foreman, Joey Barron. They partnered with SR3 to develop a custom-built transport cart, designed specifically for seal releases.

The cart needed to support up to 1,100 pounds while remaining light enough to maneuver, stable on uneven terrain and flexible enough to be pulled by hand or ATV. Using digital modeling and hands-on fabrication, the team built the cart at McKinstry’s Seattle Fabrication Shop, guided by real-world release conditions and feedback from SR3 volunteers.

The cart debuted at Dash Point State Park, where SR3 volunteers used it to release four rehabilitated seals. Instead of requiring four or more people to carry a single heavy crate, the cart now allows two volunteers to move carriers across the 75-yard stretch from the parking area to the shoreline, reducing physical strain and helping animals arrive at the water more calmly.

“A carrier typically needs at least four people to carry it, depending on the animal’s weight,” said Scott Fraser, senior giving officer at SR3. “This cart makes releases safer and more efficient for our team and less stressful for the animals.”

For SR3, the cart supports safer, more effective animal releases. For McKinstry, the project demonstrates how employee insight and community need can drive practical solutions beyond traditional project boundaries.