RSPCA scours Loganlea after pet cat trapped in illegal steel jaw trap

Police and RSPCA officers are scouring parts of a southside suburb after a wandering moggy was caught in an illegal rusty steel jaw trap and left hanging by his foot overnight.

Police and RSPCA officer Jo Jordaan extricate the cat from the rusty illegal trap in Loganlea.

THE RSPCA is investigating after a wandering moggy was caught in an illegal rusty steel jaw trap and left hanging by his foot overnight.

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No charges have been laid but the RSPCA Inspectorate said it was scouring parts of Loganlea, to trace where the trap came from.

The traps are banned in built-up areas and are not from the Logan City Council which has also stopped distributing its legal and humane feral cat traps during the coronavirus lockdown.

The cat left hanging overnight after it was caught in an illegal trap which has sparked a hunt across a southeast suburb.

Police and the RSPCA were called to the Loganlea address on Wednesday where they spent an hour extricating Gilbert, the cat from the rusty trap, allegedly set in a nearby back yard.

RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer Jo Jordaan said Gilbert had jumped a fence with the trap still caught around its leg and got tangled on the fence where he was left hanging upside down overnight.

Early morning walkers spotted the cat and called the RSPCA.

Police who arrived on scene first were able to offer the cat some relief until Ms Jordaan arrived and successfully freed the cat, who was later identified as Gilbert.

Gilbert had two puncture wounds on his foot but miraculously no other injuries, and after veterinary treatment at the RSPCA Animal Hospital, was reunited with his relieved owners.

Ms Jordaan warned people not to use the steel jaw traps and to contact Logan City Council if there were feral cats spotted in their neighbourhoods.

Residents put a wheelie bin under Gilbert the cat while they waited for the RSPCA to undo the trap.

“Traps, like the steel jaw trap that caught Gilbert, do not discriminate and pose a risk to everything including wandering children,” she said.

“Using these traps can also end in a person facing criminal charges.”

Neighbours said there had been a feral cat problem in the more rural areas of Logan which posed problems to wildlife.

Wildlife expert Kathy Faldt said feral cats hunted and scavenged for food and had caused the extinction of native animals and birds.

“Feral cats can fight with the native spotted tail quolls, which are carnivorous marsupials now federally endangered but have been seen in parts of Logan since 2005,” she said.

“But it’s not just feral cats – people should ensure all pet animals are kept inside at night so wildlife and pets are safe.”

Feral cats are declared a pest animal under the Biosecurity Act 2014 and Logan council’s Biosecurity Plan sets out ways to manage the populations across the city.