Agony of pet caught in illegal device
A cat has had its rear leg amputated after being snared in a lethal ‘gin’ trap, without food, for almost a week.
The animal, called Charlie, stepped on the tightly sprung steel trap after wandering from its home in The Glebe, Hawley.
Five days later, in an emaciated condition, it dragged itself into the garden of a house at Blackwater.
The occupier released four-year-old Charlie’s leg from the illegal trap before taking it to a Farnborough vet who amputated the shattered leg.
Through the tag on its collar he contacted the cat’s owner, Mrs Deborah Brown, who was shocked at her pet’s condition. She appealed on Monday for help tracing the callous individual who set the trap, probably in woodland near Chippendale Close.
“I want whoever was responsible to be prosecuted,” said Mrs Bowen. “It’s a miracle that Charlie is still alive. As it is she is severely traumatised. We are trying to feed her up because she is so thin and bony beneath her fur.”
She and her two daughters, Lauren, 9, and Jade, 16, are delighted that Charlie has been found. “But we are very distressed at her condition,” added Mrs Bowen.
The incident is being investigated by PC Dave Ellison, of Yateley police, who described teh trap as a “medieval looking piece of equipment.”
He said: “Bits of bone from Charlie’s leg are still in it. It must have been in agony dragging it along.”
PC Ellison appealed for information from anyone who can lead him to the person who set the trap. It certainly someone local, and they may have bragged about it,” he said.
Source: Surrey & Hants Star
