Cat shot in head with nail gun

Far North SPCA inspector Bridget King is keen to hear from anyone who can help identify the person who shot a cat in the head seven times with a nail gun.

The body of the tabby female, which had been young and healthy before it was killed, was found in the stream behind the Waipapakauri Hotel.

"It was a proper builder's nail gun that was used, not the sort a do-it-yourselfer would have in the garage," Ms King said.

"The cat appears to have been shot at close range, and the first nail probably killed it, but whoever was responsible just kept shooting it."

Anyone who had any information was invited to call her on 0800 428-464.

Meanwhile, Ms King said she was keeping an eye on a number of horses at Ahipara. One that had been the cause of concern had now changed hands and had gone to a happy retirement on a farm, the original owner having done just enough to prevent the SPCA from seizing it.

The Northland Age has been contacted by an Ahipara resident who claimed that a number of horses needed attention, describing one of them as little more than skin and bone, spending long periods tied to a barbed wire fence with no visible food or shelter. When it was untied, it was generally so young riders could "beat it" up and down the beach.

"If it was a bike, it would have been dead long ago the way it's treated," he said, adding that there were other horses that were not being well treated but this was the worst.

Ms King said anyone with concerns should phone her.