The Irish Seal Sanctuary (ISS) is leaving Courtown after being unable to reach agreement on the lease for its premises.
Founder and co-director Brendan Price told The Irish Times last Monday that the group had been "locked out" of its facility in the Co Wexford town for over a month after a dispute with its landlords Gorey-Courtown Forest Park.
It was then confirmed by the Gorey Guardian on Monday evening that the ISS would no longer operate out of Courtown due to "irreconcilable differences" over the signing of the lease.
"The lease they offered us was impossible for us to sign," said ISS spokesperson Pauline Beades. "It was only an 11-month lease. To have consistency of operations we had to have longer than that."
The ISS only moved to Courtown last year at the invitation of the Forest Park board, which invested €250,000 in the premises.
Seal pups in the care of the sanctuary will now have to be transferred to facilities in Dingle, Portaferry in Co Down and Cornwall.
The Irish Times and Gorey Guardian have more on the story HERE and HERE.