The woman walking a dog that bit and fatally wounded a popular River Thames seal called “Freddie Mercury” is a top lawyer, according to reports.
The seal suffered unsurvivable injuries in the incident near London’s Hammersmith Bridge on Sunday.
He endured a bite to one of his flippers, a broken bone, a dislocation and damage to his joints, ligaments and nerves and was put to sleep by vets on Monday.
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On Tuesday it was revealed the woman who was walking the dog that attacked Freddie is a top lawyer and specialist in commercial law.
There is no suggestion she has committed any crime and it is understood she has already spoken to the Metropolitan Police. The force referred the matter to the RSPCA, which is said to be taking no further action.
Freddie was left bitten and bloodied by the attack on Sunday afternoon and taken to South Essex Wildlife Hospital following rescue efforts by passers-by.
In a statement on Sunday, the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) – which helped get Freddie to the vets – confirmed he had been put down because his injuries were “impossible to treat”.
“We contacted a number of marine mammal veterinarians in the UK and the Netherlands, including an orthopaedic surgeon, and sadly based on their experiences the decision is that he needed to be euthanised for his welfare,” the statement added.
“We would be unable to release a seal back into the wild with one flipper, if amputation was an option, as we have a firm policy on not putting animals into captivity, and the seal’s welfare must be put first and foremost.”
BDMLR’s chief executive Alan Knight said: “We hope that his story will go a long way to helping educate people to look up and follow the appropriate guidelines for how to behave respectfully around wild animals and not cause disturbance or worse to them.”
The hospital said: “Please folks do not go near seals and always, always, keep dogs on leads and under control.”
Common or harbour seals can often be seen in and along the river Thames, with the Zoological Society of London’s Thames Marine Mammal Survey reporting 117 sightings of the mammal this year.
