This article is from page 9 of the 2007-07-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 9 JPG
CRUEL pet owners took dumping to a new extreme when they flung a Iit- ter of kittens into a recycling bin.
The tiny creatures were only saved from their fate when their desperate cries were heard by a pub manager who went to investigate and found them dumped among the cardboard boxes.
Tailrace Bar manager John Ryan said the dumping of the helpless kit- tens was “the last straw” in the Par- teen pub owner’s decision to install concealed CCTV cameras to catch people dumping every kind of rub- bish at the recycling bins in the car- park.
“It was pouring rain and they were soaked through. I’d say they were about four weeks old. If they had been left there, they would have cer- tainly been killed by dogs or foxes or, if they had escaped that, they would have died of cold or starved. I can’t understand how someone could do that, just dump live animals and walk away.”
Animal welfare concerns have con- firmed that if the person or people who dumped the kittens is found, they will be facing prosecution for cruelty to animals as well as a litter- ing fine.
John and his staff at the pub adopt- ed the three tiny kittens and fed them baby formula until they had fully recovered from their ordeal before finding kind homes for them.
“We christened them all ‘Lucky’ because that’s what they were,” said John.
‘When they recovered, they took to following us around, bawling up at us for food. It was a heartless thing to do to dump them.”
The serious issue of dumping has plagued John and pub-owner, Ger Mulconry.
“People dump bags of household rubbish that have nothing to do with recycling or they bring their bottles but throw down the boxes and bags the bottles came in. We’re constantly filling our own bins that we have to pay to have collected with the rub- bish people dump there.”
As well as household rubbish, bags, boxes and now live kittens, John has also had to pick up dead dogs.
But footage from the hidden TV cameras — which can cover the whole car park — could be used to prosecute dumpers who don’t respect the facility.
“It’s what has to happen — that or the whole thing will have to go be- cause we’re picking up after people every day,” said John.