This Saturday, May 27, Arya, a 10-month-old cat, was able to spend her first night at home in 12 days. Found after an absence of almost 10 days, she was rescued in extremis, victim of a jaw trap, in Saint-Gilles in Gard.
“His suffering is unacceptable.” Guillaume and Roxane are still in shock. When their cat disappears, on the night between May 15 and 16, they are far from imagining the scenario that awaits them. For days, they do everything they can to find their 10-month-old cat, recently adopted but already a member of the family.
A trap that is still forbidden
Located in the suburban area of Saint-Gilles, where the couple lives, it is this Friday, May 26, that Arya finally ends up showing up again. “It was 5am, I was going to do my daily round in the neighborhood to try and find her, when I heard a sound,” says Roxane.
There she discovers Arya, who has returned to her home on her own, but the leg encased in a large jaw trap. “This barbaric and inhuman act shocked the local community. The possession and use of fox traps has been illegal in France for more than 25 years,” the couple wrote in a statement.
I haven’t stopped crying for an hour, my little cat who had been missing for 12 days just came in with a poacher’s trap on her paw… impossible to remove, my partner is leaving for Montpellier! It won’t be pic.twitter.com/SxDIMtmZy5
— Guillaume \ud83d\udc40 (@GuillaumeIDPZ) 26 May 2023
A complaint will be filed
Because Guillaume and Roxane have no intention of stopping there. By sharing Arya’s story on Twitter, the couple have been contacted by associations and intend to lodge a complaint. “The national hunting association also advised us to get closer to the local association”.
After two days at the vet, Arya returned to her family on Saturday, “amputated up to the shoulder, including the scapula because it had started to necrotise”. The cat is gradually settling in, “she has a huge need for reassurance and is constantly snuggling up to us”, says Roxane, “still in shock”.
Arya has just returned home, she is fine, as much as you can do good after such an amputation… Many of you have supported me after my tweet yesterday, written under the beat of emotion, thank you very much, we will not let that go \ u270a\u2764\ufe0f pic.twitter.com/WQmCRqn6CC
— Guillaume \ud83d\udc40 (@GuillaumeIDPZ) 27 May 2023
As a reminder, the fact of committing serious abuse or committing a cruel act against a domestic animal, taming or keeping in captivity, is punishable by three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.
