Buster, the cat who had to have his front right leg amputated after being caught in an illegal rabbit trap in Wyndham, has found a new home.
The ginger moggy has recovered and is now the beloved three-legged pet of Parkdale residents Peter and Jeanette Breuer, who say the metal-jawed traps are barbaric and could harm children as well as animals.
Dr Graeme Smith, managing director of the Lost Dogs’ Home where surgeons saved Buster’s life, said the traps were “incredibly inhumane” and warned residents on the city’s fringes not to use them.
“An animal caught in a trap’s steel jaws can be stuck languishing in pain for days until it either starves or goes into septic shock,” he said.
“The pain caused by these traps is unnecessary and an extreme form of animal cruelty and there is absolutely no place for them in our society.”
Surgeons believe Buster may have been caught in the trap laid in Riverside Avenue, Werribee, for a day and would have died within hours if he hadn’t been found.
The trap’s jaws caused multiple fractures, nerve damage, open wounds and severed tendons.
Mr Breuer said despite Buster’s ordeal he was playful and “always wants to be near you”.
Although Buster has adapted well, he can no longer wash properly, so he licks Mr Breuer’s hand then rubs on his owner’s hand to groom himself.
A Wyndham council spokesman said a Werribee man faced Werribee Magistrates Court on December 18.
He was fined $1000, placed on a good behaviour bond, and ordered to pay the cat’s almost $2000 surgery bill.
