Freddie the seal attacked by savage dog

[Accy cyclist]

If it's nature for one then it's nature for both. Both are domesticated predatory animals.

Cats cannot be stopped from killing small animals,unless they are 'house cats'. Dogs can be stopped as they don't usually wander the streets,out of control. That woman could've prevented that incident happening by keeping her dog on a lead. You're not telling me that she didn't know the seal was there or that or she didn't know the temperament of her dog. I'm not blaming the police so much as i am the RSPCA. The police don't usually get involved unless humans have been harmed. They refer such cases to the local authority (dog wardens/environmental health) or the RSPCA. The RSPCA could've pursued this case but decided almost there and then not to. Now if the tv cameras had been there they could've done a 'Look at us everybody' and been seen to be the saviours of all animals in the UK,but they can't milk this case,so they aren't bothered.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Cats cannot be stopped from killing small animals,unless they are 'house cats'. Dogs can be stopped as they don't usually wander the streets,out of control. That woman could've prevented that incident happening by keeping her dog on a lead. You're not telling me that she didn't know the seal was there or that or she didn't know the temperament of her dog. I'm not blaming the police so much as i am the RSPCA. The police don't usually get involved unless humans have been harmed. They refer such cases to the local authority (dog wardens/environmental health) or the RSPCA. The RSPCA could've pursued this case but decided almost there and then not to. Now if the tv cameras had been there they could've done a 'Look at us everybody' and been seen to be the saviours of all animals in the UK,but they can't milk this case,so they aren't bothered.

On what basis would the RSPCA pursue the case? Here is their site ref. the Dangerous Dogs Act:

What happens if my dog is attacked by another dog? Is that an offence?
It is an offence if your dog attacks an assistance dog but attacks on other animals including pet dogs are not. However, a court could prosecute if a person believes they would have been injured if they tried to stop a dog attacking their animal. If your dog is attacked by another dog, the incident should still be reported to the police immediately.


Now this is an attack on a wild animal, so ostensibly outside the provisions of the legislation on that basis. Demonstrably, people intervened to stop the dog and the humans were not harmed, so nothing there either.

I think we need to keep this fact-based. They aren't intervening because there's no offence.

 

[HMS_Dave]

I don't suppose for a moment she deliberately set the dog on a baby seal, and in any case, judging by appearances, it doesn't really look like the sort of dog you'd deliberatley set on anything. Though they're cute, seals aren't particularly rare, and I wouldn't be surprised if they're deliberately persecuted by certain interests associated with fishing. Would anyone really have been bothered if the dog had caught a squirrel or pigeon? If the mother seal had been around there'd doubtless be a call for a seal massacre after the vicous beast had drowned the poor defenceless dog.

This is all a bit silly frankly

My bet is if it was a bald bloke with tattoos with a can of special brew they'd be more of an outrage I'm sure..

If the seal had killed the dog, I'm sure people would still ask why it wasn't on the lead. The point here is to limit contact with wildlife to protect all animals. Too often is the case in North America with dogs encountering bears. Doesn't normally end well for the dog. But if it was on a lead under control? We don't have bears, but our wildlife is vulnerable to dogs. Dogs bred by humans and are not wildlife themselves and their instincts are in conflict with their needs. That needs to be respected...

 

[Ridgeway]

On or lead or off a lead i can't comment of the owners ability to stop her dog from carrying out a sustained attack on another animal. I am willing to say though that as the owner didn't stop the attack then i question their responsibility as a dog owner. A dog (certainly does look Patterdale ish) that starts an attack like this can be stopped, trust me i've stopped plenty of locked on dog fights and i have the scars to prove it but that i see that as my responsibility. Expect to get bitten, bruised and have painful injuries afterwards but the owner could of saved to seal if they had intervened immediately.

 

[Arrowfoot]

.....massive overreaction to one very sad but isolated, and highly unusual, incident.......
....... because of the occasional freak incident? And does anyone suppose that such draconian measures would prevent future Freddies?

Published this year by University of Liverpool covering the UK.

https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2021/01/19/adult-hospital-admissions-for-dog-bites-triple-in-20-years/

It gives context to the claims - "isolated", "occasional", "freak", "unusual" . Guess the numbers in 2018 based on human hospital admissions.

 

[Brains]

My bet is if it was a bald bloke with tattoos with a can of special brew they'd be more of an outrage I'm sure..

The Seal Killing dogs owner has been named
She is a QC, and daughter of the Headmaster of Winchester.
(You literally could not get further from the tattooed bald bloke)

I wonder what that is going to cost in a donation, with a comma, to the RSPCA?.
Or being a QC will she try to defend the dog on the basis that it's great great great grandfather was a Husky and therefore it's natural for it to kill seals, and anyway the seal was a layabout, so it doesn't count.

 

[Drago]

I don't suppose for a moment she deliberately set the dog on a baby seal, and in any case, judging by appearances, it doesn't really look like the sort of dog you'd deliberatley set on anything.

No. She did so negligently, which is the same thing morally and in law - the incident arose as a result of her deliberate inaction, which is the same thing.

She deliberately chose not to have her dog on a lead, and then chose to flap like John Inman in a semaphore classe while others valiantly tried to get her dangerpus dog off the animal instead of taking positive action to regain control of her own dog. None of this is an accident or merely "one of those things".

 

[Ridgeway]

No. She did so negligently, which is the same thing morally and in law - the incident arose as a result of her deliberate inaction, which is the same thing.

She deliberately chose not to have her dog on a lead, and then chose to flap like John Inman in a semaphore classe while others valiantly tried to get her dangerpus dog off the animal instead of taking positive action to regain control of her own dog. None of this is an accident or merely "one of those things".

John Inman and dangerpus in the same sentence, where's Mrs Slocombe

 

[Bonefish Blues]

No. She did so negligently, which is the same thing morally and in law - the incident arose as a result of her deliberate inaction, which is the same thing.

She deliberately chose not to have her dog on a lead, and then chose to flap like John Inman in a semaphore classe while others valiantly tried to get her dangerpus dog off the animal instead of taking positive action to regain control of her own dog. None of this is an accident or merely "one of those things".

Since I seem to be adopting the role of wanderer-in in chief for the thread I feel bound to point out that not all negligent acts that cause damage or harm are criminal issues, rather they are remedied by the Civil law under the law of Tort, so no, it's not necessarily the same thing. Were Brer Seal to have an owner, absent any criminal offence, he/she might be able to bring a civil action against the owner.

 

[Accy cyclist]

What happens if my dog is attacked by another dog? Is that an offence?
It is an offence if your dog attacks an assistance dog but attacks on other animals including pet dogs are not. However, a court could prosecute if a person believes they would have been injured if they tried to stop a dog attacking their animal. If your dog is attacked by another dog, the incident should still be reported to the police immediately.

I presume they mean a guide dog for the blind,by assistance dog. However,if my mutt was attacked i'd say he's an emotional support dog and therefore an assistance dog. I always say that if your dog is being attacked by another dog you should get yourself bitten by the aggressor,then it becomes a police matter. On my walks i do arm myself in case of a dog attacking either my mutt or me. My little baseball bat is discretely hidden under the mattress of his dog stroller.

 

[Rocky]

Accy, I have every sympathy for anyone who gets attacked or has thei dog attacked, but carrying a bat such as that might get you into trouble. Wouldn't it be better to leave it at home? I'm sure @Drago can advise on this.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Accy, I have every sympathy for anyone who gets attacked or has thei dog attacked, but carrying a bat such as that might get you into trouble. Wouldn't it be better to leave it at home? I'm sure @Drago can advise on this.

It's a fine line Rocky. I could leave it at home and be unable to defend me and mutt,or i could use it to defend me and mutt and end up in trouble. I usually carry a tennis ball in his buggy,so if i get stopped by the plod i could say 'we're off up to the park officer,to play bat and ball'
I haven't had to use it yet,but the other week 2 yobbo youths were approaching,mouthing off and stuff. I stood still and discretely put my hand under the mattress to get ready to grab the 'weapon'. I do think the visual affect would be sufficient to make most troublemakers think twice,so just giving it the 'Bring it on' should suffice. I do have some wooden nunchakus from my old jiu jitsu days,somewhere in my flat,but i don't think i could pass them off as 'doggie exercise time' like i could with 'his bat and ball'.

 

[HMS_Dave]

It's a fine line Rocky. I could leave it at home and be unable to defend me and mutt,or i could use it to defend me and mutt and end up in trouble. I usually carry a tennis ball in his buggy,so if i get stopped by the plod i could say 'we're off up to the park officer,to play bat and ball'
I haven't had to use it yet,but the other week 2 yobbo youths were approaching,mouthing off and stuff. I stood still and discretely put my hand under the mattress to get ready to grab the 'weapon'. I do think the visual affect would be sufficient to make most troublemakers think twice,so just giving it the 'Bring it on' should suffice. I do have some wooden nunchakus from my old jiu jitsu days,somewhere in my flat,but i don't think i could pass them off as 'doggie exercise time' like i could with 'his bat and ball'.

A security guard I talked to where I used to work used to have them really long metal torches. They weighed a tonne. He used to joke that it wasn't just for illuminating the surroundings...

 

[Yellow Fang]

When I were a lad there were all those public information messages on the television about not letting your dog worry sheep. I wasn't sure what they meant by worrying, because they just showed some sheep running about as if chased by a dog. They did not show any bleeding sheep. When I took my grandparents' Labrador out for long walks and swimming in the lochs in Ireland, I was worried slightly about the dog worrying, as in making anxious, the cattle around there. There weren't many sheep. There was no prospect of the Labrador harming either cattle or sheep. I did take it into a field with cattle and all the cattle surrounded her. I thought they were just being curious, but cows think dogs are wolves. In prehistoric times, those cows would all have horns and they would surround the wolf to protect their calves. Cows can be a bit dangerous. They're easily scared but they're prone to stampede.

 

[stephec]

@Accy cyclist you'd have to be very sure of yourself with that, what happens when Mr knobby takes it off you?