Pest Control companies in Ireland are trapping and killing/releasing cats. This is illegal under the Animal Health & Welfare Act 2013 which states that all animals, including cats, are protected. Any cat, whether owned, lost, stray or feral that is trapped by pest control is either killed or released in a new location. It is completely unacceptable. How can these companies be allowed to blatantly break the law and harm and kill innocent animals? Traps are set and left uncovered, unattended and unchecked for days at a time subjecting cats to unimaginable suffering from exposure to adverse weather conditions such as searing heat, freezing cold, lashing rain, wind, frost, snow, thunder, lightning and storms not to mention starvation and dehydration. We cannot imagine the suffering, fear, anxiety and stress these cats endure before they are brought to a Vet and killed or released at a new location with no source of food or shelter. Cats are not checked for microchips or spay/neuter status which would indicate they have owners, or ear tips which would indicate they are part of a managed colony of feral cats.
We are calling for the Irish Pest Control Association & Rentokil to stop this illegal practice in Ireland immediately. Cats are not vermin! We are asking the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed to place a ban on pest control companies trapping and killing / releasing defenceless cats immediately.
