Freddie the seal mauled to death by wealthy QC’s dog
Horrific end for animal living on banks of Thames
THE woman in control of a dog that mauled a much- loved seal is an Oxford-educated QC whose father was headmaster of Winchester College, it emerged last night.
Rebecca Sabben- Clare, 49, was pictured holding the animal after the attack on the banks of the Thames.
Freddie the seal, named after Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, had been a common sight for riverside walkers near Hammersmith Bridge in Barnes, south-west London, since he first appeared there last month.
But distressing pictures showed him being mauled by a brown dog on Sunday.
Onlookers rushed to release the dog’s clamped jaws, and a passing vet stayed with the seal until emergency services arrived.
There is no evidence any kind of criminal offence took place.
Miss Sabben-Clare, one of Britain’s top barristers, lives in a luxurious house with her husband William, 57, near where the attack took place. She studied at New College Oxford and was named a leading English silk in the 2021 Legal 500 Directory.
Her father, James Sabben-Clare, was headmaster of Winchester College from 1985 to 2000.
A specialist in commercial law, she has been described as ‘incredibly bright’ and ‘very talented’, as
‘We had to end his suffering’
well as ‘a fearless advocate’ who is ‘very cool, calm and easy to work with’.
Her previous cases include one concerning Carillion, the construction company that went bust in 2018 in the UK’s biggest ever commercial liquidation.
She has also worked representing a Middle Eastern government over oil interests.
After the attack Freddie was taken by boat to the South Essex Wildlife Hospital ( SEWH) in Tilbury. On Monday evening, a SEWH spokesman said that X-rays of Freddie’s flipper showed it was ‘fractured and the joint dislocated’ and the seal’s prognosis was ‘extremely poor’.
They added: ‘Although an attempt could be made to pin the fracture, it would be impossible to immobilise the limb to give it time to heal.
‘More challenging is the dislocation which is not repairable.
‘The flipper is very swollen and despite antibiotics and pain relief the seal is clearly very uncomfortable and reluctant to eat.
‘ We suspect the infection is spreading and with the other bite wounds to his body he is very miserable.
‘At this stage we believe the only ethical and fair option we have is to end his suffering.’
In a statement the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, which helped treat Freddie’s wounds, said the scale of his injuries ‘made it impossible to treat and return him to the wild’. It added: ‘ We contacted a number of marine mammal veterinarians in the UK and the Netherlands, including an orthopaedic surgeon.
‘Sadly, based on their experiences, the decision is that he needed to be euthanised for his welfare.
‘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.’