AVA investigation: SPCA's botched rescue of trapped cat caused its death

AVA has completed their investigations into the case of the cat which died after it was found caught in a glue trap placed at a HDB bin centre, and concluded that the cat could have possibly been saved if its rescue had not been botched.


The case came to light when the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) posted up pictures of the cat covered with so much glue that only the tiny tuft of white fur between its shut eyes gave an inkling of its original appearance.

It had been caught on a glueboard trap placed by a pest control company at a bin centre beside Blk 527 Jurong West St 52 on February 17 this year.

The board, measuring 1.2m by 1.5m, is used for catching rats.

They later rescued the cat and euthanised it to prevent undue suffering.

The picture and its accompanying message, which had been posted on its Facebook page, later went viral, prompting calls for the Agri-Food Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) to ban the use of such traps.

AVA responded by conducting an investigation into the matter.

According to an update posted on its Facebook page on Friday, the pest control company which set the trap has been fined and given a stern warning.

This is as the company failed to take the necessary precautions to prevent non-target animals from being caught on the trap.

However, in a surprise revelation, the investigations also revealed that the pest control company was not wholly responsible for the state of the cat when it was brought to SPCA.

Based on the informant's photograph and his eyewitness account, the cat only had its legs stuck to the glue board when it was found.

It could possibly have been saved, if not for the rescue operation done by SPCA, AVA said.

During the rescue, SPCA personnel used a plastic garbage bag to remove and transport the cat, and inadvertently caused the glue to spread to other parts of the cat's body.

SPCA responded: "When SPCA's animal rescue officers reached the scene about 20mins later, they were unprepared for what they saw at the scene. Our staff did their best with what was available," they stressed, saying that their priority was to get the animal to their clinic.

They highlighted that they had never encountered a case of such proportions before, the glue board having been "grossly oversized and the glue used in such excessive quantities."

SPCA said going forward, they have investigated and reviewed their processes for such cases in future.

However, they pointed out that the bottom line is that the incident could have been prevented had glue traps been banned. "The SPCA still stands by its call to ban the use of glue traps," they said.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120506-344179.html
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