Wednesday, 24 March 2021
The RSPCA has confirmed it is unable to investigate the death of Freddie Mercury the seal at Hammersmith.
The 10-month-old was sunning himself on Sunday afternoon when he was attacked by a dog and later had to be put down.
Since then, there have been calls for the animal charity to step in and prosecute the owner.
But the charity says it only investigates deliberate acts of animal cruelty, and it is confident this doesn’t fall into that category.
The charity has gone on to remind dog owners to keep their pets on leads when around wild animals.
A spokesperson for the RSPCA has told us:
“We are deeply saddened by what happened to Freddie and this highlights why it is important to keep dogs on leads around wild animals.
“We investigate animal welfare offences. Dog attacks on animals would become an animal welfare offence if it was done deliberately. If no offences have been committed under relevant animal welfare acts we are unable to take incidents further. Offences involving dogs out of control are investigated by the police.
“In this instance, we spoke to the owner and as this was not a case of deliberate cruelty, it is not an offence we would investigate. The police are continuing to look into this and we are happy to assist them if needed.”
posted by Radio Jackie News Team @ 6:00 pm
