4 feral cats shot while eating - Bridgetown, VA

Tuesday, Jan 26, 2010

County: Northampton

Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Open

Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!

Four cats were discovered fatally shot on January 26, 2010, near an isolated former greenbox site on Bayside Road here, frustrating a group that is trying to humanely control the feral cat population.

The cats belonged to a colony of felines being cared for by members of the group Spay the Shore, whose mission is to reduce the feral cat population on Virginia's Eastern Shore by trapping and neutering adult wild cats. The felines afterward are vaccinated for rabies and released back where they were found. The group also works to find adoptive homes for kittens.

Cynthia Diggs, a member of Spay the Shore, said she and another woman have taken care of nine adult cats at the site for the last two or three years and a volunteer even built shelters for the cats there.

Diggs also had been caring for a litter of six kittens, now four months old, which she found at the site when they were only a week old. She bottle-fed the kittens and had found adoptive homes for them.

But two of the kittens were among the cats killed in last week's shooting. The other two cats killed were adult females the group had spayed.

"This person was so mean that he shot them while they were eating," she said of the unknown shooter and the grisly scene left behind.

After the incident, Diggs put up a laminated sign at the site explaining the cats are being cared for. She also wants to public to know about the group's mission and that shooting feral cats is illegal.

She is afraid the shooter will come back to kill the rest of the cats.

"Tell people stop shooting. Please give us a chance," she said.

Diggs also is trying to find someone with private property where the remaining cats in the colony can be relocated for their safety, although relocating a colony is difficult.

Diggs contacted the Northampton County Sheriff's Office about the incident, which is a crime in the state, according to a Humane Society spokeswoman.

Nancy Peterson of the Washington D. C.-based Humane Society of the United States said Virginia law prohibits animal cruelty and said, "Shooting would certainly be classified as cruelty."

Animal cruelty is classified as a Class 1 misdemeanor in the state code, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine up to $2,500.

A repeat offense or cruelty resulting in a companion animal's death is a Class 6 felony and is punishable by up to five years in the state penitentiary and a fine up to $2,500.

"People who abuse animals can be dangerous to people as well," Peterson said, urging anyone with information about the shooting incident to contact the local Animal Control office.

Peterson said trapping, neutering, feeding and caring for feral cats is "an accepted and effective method for controlling or managing feral cats."

She also commented on the emotional effect of the shooting on the cats' caretakers, saying, "Although they are not thought of as pet cats, the people who care for them love them very much. Whoever did this deserves to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

If you have information on this case, please contact:
Spay the Shore
mailto:[email protected]
757-787-1126

References

• « VA State Animal Cruelty Map
  « More cases in Northampton County, VA

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