Animal lover threatened with conviction and fine over feeding stray cats
AN ANIMAL lover who has spent two decades caring for feral cats in a Dearne village has been slapped with a warning she faces prosecution and a fine of up to £2,500 unless she stops feeding them.
Collette Boler ran Millie’s Cafe on the Albion Drive industrial estate in Thurnscoe, near Rotherham, for 18 years before her daughter Rebecca Cutts took over two years ago and has fed the colony, which was already living in the area, since then.
But in the intervening years, she had helped reduce it from around 30 animals, to a dozen or less, through paying to have some spayed and finding homes for others.
Some, however, were too feral for domestic accommodation, so she continued to feed them and pay for veterinary care out of compassion.
Recently, the presence of the cats caused a row, however - with Collette reporting the incident to the RSPCA, which promised to investigate.
However, she returned home on Thursday March 5 to find a Barnsley Council employee waiting outside her home, to issue her with a warning letter.
That said following investigation Barnsley Council was “satisfied that your conduct is having a detrimental effect of a persistent or continuing nature”.
It stated her conduct was “unreasonable” and was due to feeding stray cats and warned that if she continued to feed them, she could face a Community Protection Notice from the council.
Breaching such an agreement could result in a conviction and fine up to £2,500, it stated.
Rebecca said her mum had been left devastated, after working for so long for the welfare of the animals involved and helping reduce numbers in the area.
She also questioned the validity of the warning, stating: “There was no way we could appeal it and they don’t show any evidence.
“I spent a day trying to get some answers and had a promise to call me back but I didn’t get a response,” she said.
Since the situation emerged, many people had been in touch to offer their support.
If her mother was unable to feed the animals, a cat welfare organisation could take over, using a ‘feeding station’ to ensure the cats remained fed, so the situation would remain - on a practical level - unchanged.
Barnsley Council has been approached for comment.