A Masterton man's been fined after his neighbours' cat was left hanging from a leg-hold trap set on a fence post for two days until it died.
Masterton District Court. Photo: Google Maps
The SPCA said Ross Dorrian had pleaded guilty to using a restricted trap illegally and ill-treatment of an animal in the Masterton District Court.
He was ordered to pay $1500 to the SPCA, and almost $900 for vet costs, legal fees, and to the family for emotional harm.
The SPCA said the cat would have suffered severe pain and distress, because the trap was hanging from a fence post, instead of being set on the ground.
SPCA Wellington chief executive Steve Glassey said Dorrian failed to check the trap each day that it was set, and if he had, the cat would have been found sooner.
