A much-loved rescue cat has been tragically killed in a feral cat trap placed in a West Auckland suburb. The cat, named Tui, was found dead with his head crushed after disappearing over the weekend in Te Atatū.
Stevie Paton, a mother of five, had raised Tui as a rescue cat. On Saturday, Tui went missing, and after a desperate community search, he was discovered dead on Monday. Paton explained to the Herald that she had a sinking feeling when Tui didn’t return for dinner, prompting her to ask her neighbor if they had seen him or her other missing cat, Libby, who had been gone for three weeks.
Paton recalled, “I asked if I could search the bushes in front of the house and if they thought he could be hidden anywhere in their backyard, like by a shed.”
Upon searching, Paton noticed a tail peeking out of a bush. Her heart sank, and she said, “I just thought, OMG, that’s my baby.”
Initially fearing Tui had been hit by a car, Paton returned home to grab a blanket to collect him. But as she looked closer, she realized his head was trapped in a device she had never seen before.
“I felt like I was going to be sick. I just freaked out and couldn’t look,” Paton shared. “I couldn’t get him out of the trap. It was so strong, I had to call my partner, and we couldn’t do it, so we had to leave Tui in the trap.”
Paton compared the powerful spring mechanism to one found on a trampoline.
The trap that killed Tui is identified as a Steve Allan Feral Cat Trap (SA2), designed to instantly kill feral cats. On the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) website, the trap is listed as humane for feral cats but not for other animals like possums, hedgehogs, or rats. According to the Department of Conservation’s (DoC) trapping guide, “kill traps are not recommended in areas where domestic cats are present.”
Under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, trap use in New Zealand is regulated, and individuals or groups could face prosecution if their methods violate the act.
The SPCA confirmed it had received a complaint about this incident. Alan Wilson, the SPCA’s national inspectorate manager, stated, “We can confirm that the SPCA has received a complaint in relation to this incident. We also confirm that a deceased cat has been taken into our possession, and our inquiries are ongoing.”
Anne Batley-Burton, an advocate for the New Zealand Cat Foundation, criticized the use of these traps by individuals who view cats as pests. She stated, “These traps are specifically designed to kill cats and possums.”
She also warned that placing such traps in Te Atatū posed a significant safety risk. “Any cat, small dog, or child could be harmed,” she cautioned.
The trap was removed by Tuesday, although it remains unclear who took it away.
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