RSPCA South Australia is warning people in the Kidman Park area to keep their pets safe after a much-loved tabby suffered an horrific injury after being caught in an illegal steel-jaw trap.
The 11-year-old female grey tabby named Tinka was discovered with the trap clamped high on one of her hind legs at about 10am last Sunday morning.
With Tinka clearly in agony, owners, John and Nada, tried in vain to prise the trap apart before rushing her – with the trap still attached – to an emergency vet where pain relief was given and the trap removed.
Due to the degree of the injury, the attending vet was forced to euthanise Tinka.
The matter is now under investigation by RSPCA SA. Her traumatised owners, who acquired Tinka as a kitten from the Animal Welfare League, have distributed leaflets in their neighbourhood to warn pet owners.
“Our beautiful fur baby caused no one any harm and for the past 11 years provided us with so much joy, love and companionship,” the couple wrote in the leaflet.
“She did not deserve to die under such horrendous circumstances.
“To hear her pitiful cries of pain and witness the expression on her beautiful face: “WHY
ME?” has left us so traumatised.”
Anyone with any information that might assist investigations into this matter is urged to contact RSPCA SA on 1300 4 777 22
In an unrelated matter, a 71-year-old man is due to appear in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court next Thursday, June 20, to face two charges of ill treatment of an animal and one charge of breaching Animal Welfare Regulations 2012 by setting a steel trap in contravention of the regulations.
The charges are in relation to an incident at Rosewater in March this year in which a pet cat was found with one of her front paws clamped in a steel jaw trap. The cat recovered after receiving veterinary treatment that included amputation of some toes on her injured paw.
The setting of steel-jaw traps is illegal under SA’s Animal Welfare Act. Anyone caught setting a steel-jaw trap faces immediate fines and a maximum penalty of $2,500. If an animal is caught in the trap, they could face charges for intentionally causing harm to an animal under the Animal Welfare Act, which has maximum penalties of $50,000 or imprisonment for 4 years.
