Pet owners have been urged to be vigilant after a Mumbles cat suffered two horrific rifle attacks. A three-year-old moggy, called Deri, has been shot on two separate occasions.
Following the attacks, Deri's owner, Samantha Mansi, has joined charity Cats Protection's calls for air guns to be licensed in Wales. She said her feline friend was lucky to survive the attacks.
"After the first incident, Deri came running into the house and hid himself away," said Samantha. "I had a look at him and could see blood on his side so rushed him to the vet who took an x-ray and could see he’d been shot. It just missed his vital organs and the vet said it was not possible to remove it, so the pellet is still inside him." You can get more Swansea news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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That first incident took place in May, 2021. "The next attack was in June, 2022, and again he came home injured and I rushed him to the vet. This time, the pellet had just missed his eye and remains lodged inside his head. It makes me feel sick to think there’s someone out there targeting cats like Deri and I am constantly worrying about his safety now.
"I have fibromyalgia and Deri is such an incredible support to me, I don’t know how I would cope without him. He's my best friend, and whenever I have been very ill he never leaves my side. I find it appalling that someone would be willing to hurt and potentially kill someone’s pet." You can read more stories about Mumbles here.
According to the charity's acting head of advocacy and government relations, Madison Rogers, this is not an isolated case. The charity has said it is monitoring press reports showing there were 95 air gun attacks on cats in Wales and England in 2021 alone. With no official data available, however, the figure is thought to be "just the tip of an iceberg".
Ms Rogers said: "Air guns are unlicensed in Wales and England, which means anyone aged over 18 can legally buy and own such a lethal weapon, no questions asked. This is in contrast with Scotland, which has strict rules in place on who can buy and own an air gun.
"It is clear that Scotland’s laws are working – over 90% of the air gun attacks we see on cats happen in England and Wales, where there are no controls. This is shocking, and shows that there is a problem with air guns being used irresponsibly in Wales and England, with cats frequently being the innocent victims.
"Discovering a much-loved pet cat has been shot with an air gun is deeply distressing for any owner. It is also a great concern for the wider community, who will understandably be very concerned that dangerous weapons are being used by individuals living in their area."
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