Two catssuffered symptoms of poisoning and died after consuming a highly toxic chemical deliberately left for them by their owners’ neighbour. The crime was investigated, and the culprit was handed a suspended jail term in what RSPCA sees as a 'landmark case'.
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Cats appeared ‘weak and wobbly’
Two cats, Bailey and Luna, belonged to a father and his daughter who also has three young children aged eight, five and 18 months. According to the RSPCA, they live in two separate houses located back to back.
Bailey's ownergot concerned when his male Persian appeared weak and wobbly. He called the vet and made an appointment, but sadly, the suffering pet died before it could be seen.
A few days after that, Luna, a female domestic short-hair, returned home 'very wobbly on her back legs'.Her heart rate was high, and her muscles were twitching. The vet detected kidney failure. It was decided to put the poor feline to sleep to prevent further suffering.
Poisoned with a highly toxic chemical
Following the deaths of their pets, the owners got suspicious and looked in the rear garden of their neighbour's property. This is when they spotted two strangely-looking pots, one with a bright blue liquid and another with a blue-green mess resembling a food mix. One more pot was later found in Luna's owner's garden.
These were retrieved and passed to the RSPCA for investigation.
Tests confirmed the pots contained high concentrations of ethylene glycol, a substance poisonous to felines. The food mix pot had toxic chemicals added to tuna fish. It was made deliberately to attract the cats into consuming them.
An expert vet report concluded the poison 'very highly likely' caused their death. Affected animals suffer dehydration with subsequent headaches, nausea, disorientation, weakness and collapse.
The sentence
The culprit was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court and handed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and 150 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £2,000 ($2500) in costs and disqualified from keeping all animals for five years.
RSPCA inspector Simon Evans, who investigated the case, said:
We hope this shocking, landmark case sends a clear message to anyone thinking of targeting cats in this way - this is wrong, illegal and will not be tolerated.
The RSPCA believes this is the first such case to be referred to a higher instance for sentencing. It demonstrates the seriousness of the offence, following the coming into force of the new Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021.
Hayley Firman of the RSPCA’s prosecutions department commented:
It's good to see that the courts are applying the new legislation in the way it was intended.
Head to RSPCA's website to learn more about the charity and support their vital animal welfare and rescue work.
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