An investigation has been launched after a cat was found hanged by a belt on a fence next door to a nursery.
The RSPCA is now looking into the death of the white female cat which was discovered by staff at Gardner’s Lane Primary school in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
The cat’s teeth were found embedded in the fence, suggesting she had struggled desperately to break free from her killers.
The RSPCA said there were also scratch marks on a fence post, which also indicate she was alive when she was placed there.
Staff shielded the grisly scene from the view of pupils arriving at the school on the morning of November 13.
Gloucestershire Police later removed the cat’s body and took her to a nearby charity-run animal rescue.
What is the Animal Welfare Act of 2006?
The 2006 Animal Welfare Act introduced an important and new concept for pet owners and those responsible for domestic animals, e.g. breeders, those who have working animals or farm animals in England and Wales.
Animal owners must provide for five welfare needs:
- Need for a suitable environment
- Need for a suitable diet
- Need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns
- Need to be housed with, or apart, from other animals
- Need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
Source: RSPCA
RSPCA inspector Richard Carr, who is now investigating, said: ‘This is truly a horrible incident of animal cruelty. The cat’s body was found hanging by a belt on the fence right outside the school nursery where very young children could have seen.
‘Fortunately the staff got there in time and blocked the view off before the police arrived. It does appear the cat was alive when she was placed on the fence and sadly there was evidence of her struggling to bite herself free.
‘It really beggars belief why someone would commit an act as cruel and sick as this.’
No CCTV cameras appear to be in the location where the cat was found, so anyone with information has been urged to reach out to the RSPCA.
The cat also was not microchipped, but the inspector said he believes she was owned and not ‘feral’.
The crime was committed between the evening of November 10 and the morning of November 13.
The height the belt was attached rules out that the perpetrators were intending to abandon the cat tied to the fence, the RSPCA added, and they believe the act was one of intentional harm.
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