A man uses a trap to catch rabbits in Western Australia.
Instead, cat Nige falls into the clutches of the steel brackets.
When something happens to a beloved pet, it's the worst thing that can happen to owners.
A woman in the Australian state of Western Australia (WA) also experienced this.
When she hears the desperate screams of cat Nige, she makes a gruesome discovery on her neighbor's property.
Before her eyes, the six-year-old feline fights for her life in a trap previously set by a 78-year-old man from Witchcliffe.
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On a trip to the neighbor's garden, cat Nige falls into a trap.
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Rabbit trap rips off cat's leg - perpetrator gets high fine
Badly injured and bleeding, the cat tries to free itself from the jagged steel bars.
The woman immediately takes Nige to the vet to treat his injuries.
The diagnosis: a deep wound and a broken bone.
But after several weeks of medical treatment, the veterinarians have to realize that the cat's health is not good at all.
Because Nige's leg has irreparable damage.
Only an amputation can save her.
Rabbit trap rips cat's leg off - 'devices cause horrible injuries'
Setting up steel jaw traps, also known as leghold traps or swan necks, to catch wild animals is strictly forbidden in Germany and is considered a violation of the Animal Welfare Act and the Federal Hunting Act.
Illegal use will be severely punished.
This is also the case in Western Australia: “These devices cause terrible injuries and suffering,” explains Kylie Green.
The senior inspector at the RSPCA recalls a number of incidents where the animals bled to death or were further injured when attempts were made to free them.
"Nobody wants to see their pet in pain, so I can only imagine how traumatic it was for Nige's caregiver to find her this way." Also in Ukraine, a terrified kitten in the rubble needs urgent help from rescue workers.
Rabbit trap rips off cat's leg - perpetrator has to pay nearly $10,000
For his crime, the man now had to assert himself before the Australian court.
There he admitted that he set the ancient trap to catch rabbits.
He also acknowledged that any animal captured would "suffer to some extent."
Judges fined the man $6,000 and ordered him to pay cat Nige's owner more than $3,700 in damages and $163 in court costs.
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