A cat owner from Kelvedon, Essex, expressed her horror and disgust after her missing pet returned home with an illegal metal trap attached to his leg. Gemma Hodge, the owner of three-year-old Loki, discovered the rusty gin trap on his front right leg after he came back home on Tuesday, March 31, following a five-day disappearance.
The trap, which had caused severe injury to Loki, required immediate medical attention. A local vet was forced to amputate his leg and administer strong antibiotics to prevent infection from spreading.
“I can’t stop thinking about what he must have been through to get home with that on his leg,” Hodge said, describing the ordeal as “sickening.” She revealed that she had also been contacted by three other cat owners whose pets had been caught in similar traps.
Hodge was especially disturbed by the thought that someone had deliberately set the trap, knowing it would cause distress and pain to any animal caught in it. “The fact that someone’s put that down knowing it’s going to cause distress and pain to someone or something is just vile. That could have easily been a child,” she added.
Gin traps, which feature spring-operated jaws with teeth that snap shut, have been illegal in the UK since 1958 due to their cruel nature. Staff at Spring Lodge Vets in Witham told Hodge that Loki may have been trapped for the entire five days he was missing.
What left Hodge particularly stunned was that Loki managed to leap a 6ft-high fence at the back of the family’s garden while the trap was still attached to his leg. “That gobsmacked me the most,” Hodge said.
The emotional toll was also significant on Hodge’s 10-year-old daughter, who had been struggling with the absence of her “best friend” Loki. “She’s been getting everything ready for him – his milk and his treats. She just wants him home,” Hodge shared, explaining how thrilled her daughter was to have Loki back.
An RSPCA spokesperson condemned the use of gin traps, stating that domestic animals often fall victim to them, and emphasized the indiscriminate nature of these traps. “Gin traps are cruel and anyone setting one faces prosecution,” the spokesperson said.
The shocking incident has sparked outrage and raised awareness about the dangers of illegal traps, leaving many to question how such inhumane practices can still occur.
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