THEY SHOOT HORSES DON"T THEY?

Police to investigate handling of incident involving shooting of horses near Dunnington

POLICE are to review their handling of an incident near York which ended with them shooting dead two horses, leaving locals outraged.

During the incident at Dunnington, near York, on Sunday, police and members of the public spent hours trying to control four horses which had got loose near the A1079.

After several hours of attempts to corral the horses safely, police marksmen killed two of the horses, and the remaining two were contained in a nearby field.

Superintendent Andy McMillan, of North Yorkshire Police, said the killing was a last resort, but the incident would be investigated following concerns raised by locals and witnesses to the operation.

He said: “The decision to shoot the wild horses was taken to protect the public from a potentially dangerous situation of the animals running on to a busy road and causing a serious or even fatal collision.

“The decision was made following assistance from a specialist equine vet and having contacted the RSPCA. Every effort was made to bring the situation under control without having to destroy any of the horses, but ultimately public safety has to be our number one priority.

“Nevertheless, we are very mindful of the concerns that have been raised about the way the incident was handled by North Yorkshire Police. To address this issue I am undertaking a detailed review of the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

Lorna Marchi, owner of York Riding School, said she was “appalled” by the handling of the operation.

She said: “If someone had called us we could have had them all safe. I can’t believe that a group of people who are used to dealing with horses couldn’t have been brought in to help and avoid the animals being shot. Why didn’t they just call up one of the riding schools in York and ask for help?”

“As I understand it, the horses were in a field. If they were not on a highway, why couldn’t they just use an electric fence around where they were and leave them there.”

Yesterday, vet James Christie told The Press “several attempts had been made to manually round up and capture the horses, but had been unsuccessful”. Mr Christie said tranquiliser darts were considered but not used, and the shooting of the horses was a decision made by police after efforts to control them were unsuccessful.

Thank goodness that the police are investigating the way that this dreadful operation was handled - clearly RSPCA's press dept - Henry Macaulay's network, will not allow this to be published in the national press, but it's good to see the local papers doing their job for once. Doubtless, the RSPCA will be exonerated too.

York Press

WIDOW PLANNING FORMAL COMPLAINT AGAINST 'NAZI' RSPCA

No doubt it will be made to appear that Ann Baker, 79, was actually lucky not to be prosecuted for cruelty - despite the fact that Nightshift was actually under the care of her own vet, and he did not see the problems allegedly observed by the RSPCA

A SELBY widow is planning to make a formal complaint to the RSPCA after her cat was seized by the animal charity and put down just hours after he went missing from her home.

Ann Baker, 79, said Nightshift – a neutered male tabby, who she had kept since 1992 – was her last living link with her retired university professor husband Clyde Manwell, who died in December 2007.

Ann, who lives close to Selby Abbey, said: "I'm very upset – furious. They just put Nightshift down as if he was so much rubbish. They tried to justify it by saying he was old.

"I told them well I'm old too! Then they said he had most of his teeth missing. Well, I have no teeth at all! It was just like something out of Nazi Germany."

Ann said Nightshift had been taken ill and was treated at a highly-regarded vets in Howden on August 30 for respiratory difficulties.

Selby Times

RSPCA KILL PENSIONERS BELOVED CAT

What gives the RSPCA the right to steal someone's pet and kill it?

A Selby pensioner has told how the RSPCA seized her beloved pet cat from the street and put him down within the space of 24 hours.

Ann Baker, 79, of Church Avenue, said she had owned the tabby cat, Nightshift, since 1992 and he was the last living link she had with her late husband, who had still been alive when they took the animal in as a stray.

Mrs Baker said that over the weekend, Nightshift had come down with a respiratory problem. She took him to the vet on Bank Holiday Monday and paid more than £100 to have him treated.

On Tuesday, he was whining to go out of the house so she let him into the garden. But when she came to let him in, he was nowhere to be seen.

A neighbour later told her that an RSPCA van had been seen in the area and Mrs Baker then contacted the charity.

She said: “A woman confirmed they had picked up a cat in Selby. She phoned back and said she had bad news – he had been put down. I can’t understand it as his fur was healthy, his eyes were clear.”

She said the female inspector who had taken Nightshift was asked to bring the cat’s body back to Mrs Baker, and he had now been buried in her garden.

Mrs Baker said there appeared to have been no attempt to find out who owned the animal before he was taken away.

She said: “She (the inspector) just grabbed him off the street, bundled him into a van and had him destroyed.”

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said that if the cat had been microchipped it would have meant he could have been returned.

She said: “We are sorry that the cat’s owner has been caused upset and distress. We have been in touch with her to convey our sympathies.

“Our staff have animals’ best interests at heart. An RSPCA inspector took the cat to a vet who confirmed that it was extremely ill and suffering from several problems including kidney failure and breathing problems.

“Generally, if an RSPCA inspector finds a healthy cat then it is kept for seven days while we make inquiries and endeavour to track down an owner, but this cannot always be the case if an animal is very ill or injured and needs immediate veterinary treatment.”

Yorkpress