James McNally interviewed by TV’s Vanessa Feltz
Solicitor James McNally appeared live on the Vanessa TV show after two ‘out of control’ dogs were gunned down on the streets of London by the Metropolitan Police following reports of a woman having been bitten.
The incident was captured on video and went viral on social media. Witnesses were shocked to see animals being shot dead in broad daylight, with some commenting that it was an excessive use of force and that other action could have been taken.
The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has responded by confirming it will review the circumstances of the incident.
James, an animal law expert who is known in the media simply as ‘the dog bite solicitor’, told Vanessa Feltz that Britain was facing an epidemic of dog attacks. He confirmed that the number of incidents had risen sharply since the pandemic which was responsible for a massive increase in dog ownership.
But James, the lawyer behind dogbitesolicitors.co.uk, was quick to point out that this was not a problem that can simply be addressed by banning a few specific breeds. The causes are more far-reaching and ultimately dog owners have to take greater responsibility. “There are some very simple precautions that can be taken to reduce risk,” said James. “Just fitting a letter box cage at home would, for instance, prevent so many of the injuries we see on a daily basis.”
James made it clear that focussing on ‘dangerous breeds’ was not the solution. He explained that there was no one particular breed that was responsible for this problem. While many of the cases he and his team deal with involve bigger dogs, that is simply because big dogs tend to be more powerful and therefore the injuries resulting from being bitten by one are usually far more serious than bites from smaller dogs.
James has been calling for government action to be taken to reform the UK’s inadequate legislation for years and hopes that the shocking images circulating on social media will be a catalyst for change.