An Aberdeenshire woman is calling for snares to be banned after finding her cat with “horrific” injuries.
Marion Brownlie, from St Cyrus, thought her much loved pet Harry had been “cut in two” when he was discovered close to home.
She is now is backing the Cats Protection’s campaign which calls for snares to banned across Scotland.
Harry had been missing for five days when Ms Brownlie and her daughter found him “in a bad way”.
It is thought the ginger-and-white cat had been trapped for that whole time before he was able to drag himself to safety.
Vets were able to confirm the injury was caused by a snare and performed surgery to repair a deep wound running from hip to hip across Harry’s abdomen.
Now, he is back at home but has to stay in a cage resting while he recovers.
‘The most horrific thing’
His owner said: “We found him collapsed in a field and it was like something from a nightmare – I was afraid to pick him up as it looked as though he’d been cut in two.
“He was still clinging to life and we got him to the vet who said his chances were 50/50. The vet could tell that Harry must have been trapped for some time, and he must have been in agony.
“There is no way he could have got out of the snare on his own, so we can only assume that whoever laid the snare had released him, but we’ll never know.
“It’s too horrific to think of him trapped like that – he’s a family pet, adored by all of us including my young grandchildren.
“I can’t quite believe he managed to survive the injuries – it was the most horrific thing I’ve ever seen. But so far he is doing well, and we’re just keeping everything crossed that he continues to recover.”
Campaigning for snare ban
Ms Brownlie’s first call after finding Harry was to Dr Elspeth Stirling, a volunteer from Cats Protection in Arbroath.
“I’ve been a volunteer for over 25 years and this is the worst case of needless suffering I’ve come across,” the volunteer said.
“What makes this even more distressing is that snares are still legal but Harry’s case clearly shows how incredibly cruel and inhumane they are.”
Ms Brownlie added: “I was absolutely staggered to find out that these snares are legal. Anyone who saw the state Harry was in would agree that snares are completely inhumane – no animal should be left to suffer such agony for so long.
“I can’t see how snares can be justified at all – it’s plain cruelty and must be banned.”
Cats Protection is continuing its campaign for a ban on snares across the UK following the example of Wales who are in the final stages of passing the ban.
Alice Palombo, advocacy and government relations officer for the charity in Scotland, said: “It’s hard to describe Harry as lucky, as he must have suffered unimaginable pain, but thankfully he did survive and get home.
“Many animals caught in snares – whether they’re wildlife or pet cats – will instead suffer a long, lonely and painful death. Snares and similar devices have no place in a modern society and we will continue to campaign for them to be banned.”
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