The RSPCA has made an appeal for the people to be vigilant after two cats were found in illegal traps.
One cat had to have its leg amputated after it became entangled in a ‘gin trap’ in Pershore. Another cat, called Rascal, from Pinvin, managed to drag himself along with a similar trap attached to its paw and was freed by a neighbour.
RSPCA inspector Chris Brown yesterday appealed to members of the public living near to the two villages to be aware of traps which are being used illegally.
Insp Brown said: ‘The use of gin traps has been illegal since 1954 and the injuries that these cats sustained were horrific.
‘I would ask anyone who knows who may be laying these traps to alert the RSPCA immediately.’
Gin traps are designed to trap the animal’s leg with a spring like mechanism so the animal cannot escape.
The first young female cat lost her leg after she had managed to crawl home with the trap still around her front right leg.
Despite every effort to save it, vets were forced to amputate it due to the extent of her injuries and infection.
Miss Angela Farley, whose 18 month-old gray cat Rascal got caught in a trap earlier this month, said her cat had been very lucky to keep its leg.
She said: ‘He managed to crawl to a neighbour’s garden with the trap still around his leg and luckily my neighbour knew how to remove it.
‘The vet said unless he used the leg which had been injured it would have to be amputated but thankfully he is now walking on the leg but is still limping.’
Source: The Birmingham Post
