3 Queenstown community cats die of suspected poisoning, SPCA calls for humane pest control measures
Jun 30, 2024
stories.apexnews-sea.com
Three community cats from Queenstown have died of suspected poisoning as part of pest control measures, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said.
They were among seven cases of sickened cats reported over more than three weeks.
SPCA has called for humane population control measures to be used.
3 Queenstown cats that died from suspected poisoning will be given post-mortems
The cat deaths were revealed by the SPAC in a Facebook post on Friday (28 June).All seven of the suspected poisoning cases took place in Mei Ling Street from 3 to 26 June, it said.
The cats likely ingested poison meant for other species such as pigeons or rodents.
The bodies of the three cats who didn’t survive have been handed over to the authorities and will undergo post-mortems.
Cat feeder found dead birds
The issue was highlighted as early as 15 May by cat feeder Piry Lim.She said in a Facebook post that when she had started feeding cats that day, she saw dead pigeons and starlings on the ground.
She also saw bits of food nearby.
She questioned whether this method of culling birds was right and was concerned that community cats would eat the poisoned food.
Two days later, she found more dead pigeons, and a dead starling the day after that.
2 Queenstown cats found in distress on 3 June, both die
On 3 June, another cat feeder Susan Lee posted that she received a call from Mdm Lim, who had been feeding cats at Block 155 and 156 Mei Ling Street.She found two cats there “groaning”, she said. A video she shared showed a cat lying in a drain, convulsing and moaning in distress.
Two dead pigeons and a dead starling were not far away, she added.
A few hours later, she updated the post to say that one of the cats had died and the other was breathing very weakly.
On 6 June, Ms Lim posted that the other cat had died on the way to SPCA.
Their bodies were taken away by the Animal Veterinary Service (AVS).
A nearby resident had told Mdm Lim that she saw pest control workers put poison in the area, she added.
Another Queenstown cat dies of suspected poisoning
On 26 June, Mdm Lim posted that she was informed of another dead cat in Mei Ling Street.To her despair, she realised that it was a cat named “Princess Meiling” who had been a previous victim of poisoning, she said.
Having recovered after being seen by a private vet, another suspected poisoning unfortunately took her life, she lamented. Photos she shared showed SPCA taking away the carcass.
Mdm Lim also posted videos of two more cats in distress. One of them, a black and white tabby, was seen wailing in apparent distress behind a washing machine.
The other meowed pitifully though someone had covered it in a blanket.
In another post on 26 June, Ms Lee said the latest suspected cat poisoning cases were handed over to AVS, with the Cat Welfare Society also getting involved.
However, at 9pm she said that another cat had been found poisoned and had been sent to a vet by a kind resident.
SPCA calls for umane population control measures
In response to the incident, the SPCA appealed to pest control agencies and members of the public to consider humane population control measures, saying:Moreover, the measures may not even solve the problem of overpopulation as more animals will move in to take the place of the animals killed. “This is especially true of pigeons,” it added.
The SPCA instead recommended humane control methods such as removing their food sources and exclusionary measures.
If community cat feeders and members of the public come across similar cases of suspected cat poisoning, they are urged to call its 24/7 emergency hotline at 6287 5355 extension 9.
