Dear Sir
On the morning of Monday, June 24 our cat returned from the direction of the field adjoining Rye Hill having been shot three times with an air rifle. He was shot in the head, and this fragmented and fractured his skull and was operated on yesterday.
The second shot was to his right shoulder and the third the most serious may have perforated his bowel. It is a criminal offence to shoot an animal and the matter has been reported to the police and is being dealt with. We have had exceptional attention from Cinque Ports Vets. in particular James and we are very grateful for that. Time will tell if Bertie survives, we hope so but please be aware if you live in the area.
Yours,
Jen and David Tomkinson
Image Credits: J and D Tomkinson .
I do hope your poor little cat survived its ordeal and is on the road to recovery. I too live on Rye hill and have a little black and white cat similar to yours. We are plagued with up to eight magpies at a time in the large oak tree at the end of my garden which backs onto the main road. I wonder whether someone took a pot shot at your cat, mistaking its black and white fur for a magpie on the ground? Only yesterday a magpie had pinned a baby starling or blackbird to the ground and was tearing it to pieces. These birds are a menace and have no natural predators, and the current licencing laws are such that it is illegal to cull them, I believe. I am a wildlife lover and have volunteered at RSPCA Mallydams feeding birds, but these are now an absolute menace and need to be culled to protect other wildlife.
why does anyone have an air rifle really? And who in their right minds would shoot a cat, that would clearly look like a cat and not a magpie? There is a spiritual malaise generally in our society and cruelty to animals is one of its manifestations