Mahatma Gandhi once said that the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. With this in mind, consider another incident of severe animal cruelty that surfaced in Louis Trichardt this week.

A three-year-old female cat, with a litter of five three-week-old kittens, was left paralysed after she was shot in the back with an air gun.

“We were sitting on the porch, when Shadow came running up to us. We could see the cat was in pain. When we picked him up, three BB gun bullets fell from his fur,” recalls Mr. Basie Goussard of the events that unfolded at their home last Wednesday afternoon. Shadow is one of the family’s two cats.

But the real tragedy was yet to strike. Moments later they heard their other cat, Wolla, cry out in pain. When they opened the door for her, they were met with a horrifying sight.

Wolla’s backside was paralysed and she was literally dragging herself into the house. Shocked, Basie and his wife, Babs, rushed Wolla to a vet where an X-ray revealed that an air gun bullet was lodged next to her spine.

“They told us that it was risky to operate, as it could leave Wolla permanently paralysed. We were advised to watch her for a day or two and then decide what to do,” says Basie.

After some treatment, a shot for the pain and R500 later, Wolla was taken home. A closer inspection revealed that Shadow also had two puncture wounds to the back, but he appeared to be in no discomfort. According to Basie, it looked like the bullet had passed straight through, missing vital organs.

Wolla was not so lucky. For two days, Babs stayed by her side, only able to give her medication for her pain. By Friday afternoon, the decision was taken to euthanize her. Babs was understandably very emotional. “She had shown no improvement and had lost all control of her bowel functions,” says Basie. The best thing to do was to put her out of her misery.

The incident outraged the Louis Trichardt SPCA.

According to senior animal inspector Lawrence Khodobo, cases like these where the culprits are unknown are very frustrating and difficult to solve. Together with members of the Makhado police, he has already managed to indentify a possible suspect, but the problem now is how to prove it was that person’s air gun which fired the shots. He does, however, have hope for an arrest, as he was able to retrieve the bullet that paralysed Wolla.

“People should realise that acts of animal cruelty are a criminal offence. If the culprit is caught, he or she will be charged in accordance with the Animal Protection Act and, if convicted, be left with a criminal record. The convicted person could also be ordered by the court to pay all medical expenses, as well as compensation to the owner of the pet,” said Khodobo. He warned members of the public not to take acts of cruelty to animals lightly.

“What if it was a child who was shot? What if that child lost an eye?” Khodobo said. He reiterated the fact that it is illegal to fire an air gun in a residential area.

Khodobo is continuing with an investigation, adamant to bring the culprit(s) to book.

“At some stage, we need to send a strong message,” Khodobo said. By the time of going to press, he was scheduled for another meeting with the police with regard to the incident.

In the meantime, the five kittens are being bottle-fed. Khodobo urged anyone with information regarding the incident to phone him at 082 965 5151.