Stray cats killed with wildlife traps Norfolk, VA (US) Incident Date: Saturday, Nov 30, 2002 County: Norfolk City Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Abuser/Suspect: Curtis L. Ahlers

Case ID: 1306 Classification: Unlawful Trapping/Hunting Animal: cat View more cases in VA (US) Animal was offleash or loose Login to Watch this Case

A man was convicted on April 29 of misdemeanor animal cruelty because he set wildlife traps that ended up killing several stray cats. Curtis L. Ahlers, 35, was fined $500 by General District Judge Virginia L. Cochran.

Ahlers has not yet decided whether to appeal, said his attorney, Peter J. Jankell.

Ahlers set traps in December on a vacant lot along Sandpit Road near Norfolk International Airport. He said Tuesday that he was trying to trap foxes and raccoons and had obtained a state trapping license.

But, according to testimony, Ahlers also accidentally trapped and killed several feral cats. The cats had been left there by former nearby residents and had been fed for about 10 years by three people who visited occasionally. One person had taken the animals to a veterinarian to be spayed and neutered and for rabies shots. The animals then were returned to the lot.

Ahlers was warned by one of the people, Joseph Kabachenski, that there were cats in the area and that the traps might kill them, according to testimony Tuesday.

The warning should have alerted Ahlers to potential problems, said James V. Chafin, assistant city attorney in Virginia Beach.

"It may have been an accident, but it was an accident that could have been prevented," Chafin said.

Ahlers told Kabachenski that the traps would not kill cats or other domesticated animals, according to testimony.

In January, Ahlers was convicted of trapping without permission and of using a snare trap without permission for setting the devices on city landfill property off Kempsville Road in December. He was fined $400 for the two misdemeanor violations.

He also has been convicted of trespassing and unlawful trapping in Chesapeake, where he faces another animal cruelty charge.

Ahlers said Tuesday that all of the charges stem from a time when he was on leave from the Navy and decided to try his hand at trapping in Virginia. He explained that trapping is a hobby he has practiced in various locations for 20 years. He is a chief petty officer who lives in Virginia Beach.

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