Kittens in wire snares agony

CAT lover Dawn Connolly has hit out after her pets were caught for days in agonising snare traps.

Ten-month-old kittens Freddy and Billy were missing for two weeks before making their way home entangled in wire snares, which had become embedded in their flesh.

Both animals needed surgery to save their lives and Dawn has been left with a bill for more than £1,100 in vets’ bills.

Mrs Connolly (49), of Pickwick Drive, Catcliffe. said: “The vet said that someone must have cut them free or they could have died. “They used up all their nine lives and survived after going all that time without food.

“Our home backs on to open ground so whether it is someone trying to catch cats or if they have put the snares down to trap rabbits I don’t know.

“But it is a horrible, dangerous thing to do and many pets could be caught in them.”

She appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

The RSPCA is investigating and a spokesman said: “Though free-running snares are legal when used under strict conditions, one of those is that it shouldn’t be used where it might catch a protected animal, which is what has happened here.

“These cats were extremely lucky. Snares can cause a painful and prolonged death and dreadful suffering and injury to the animals caught in them.

“Anyone who has any specific information about where the snares are and who is responsible for setting them should contact us on 0300 1234 999 and ask to leave a message for RSPCA inspector Leanne Booth.”