Masterton vet slams pet shooting

Vet Heidi Ward-McGrath with a cat brought in with a gunshot wound. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

A Masterton vet is calling on Wairarapa people to make sure firearms and air rifles are used responsibly after three animals were shot recently.

The bodies of a hare and a rabbit were discovered strung up along a Greytown driveway.

As well, a pet cat at the same property was injured after being shot with what is thought to have been a .22 calibre rifle or a high-powered slug gun.

Vetcare Masterton veterinarian Heidi Ward-McGrath, who treated the young female cat shot through the shoulder, with the exit wound through a leg, said intentional cruelty towards animals was unacceptable.

"She had an entry wound and an exit wound consistent with being shot ... I'm inclined to think it's a .22 as the entry and exit wounds are quite far apart," Dr Ward-McGrath said.

Her main concern as a vet was that any animals should not suffer unnecessarily.

She believed a teenager was the most likely culprit for the shooting of the cat.

Gun owners and parents needed to make sure their weapons were not used to harm domestic animals, she said.

"It's something that parents need to be aware of and that needs to be closely monitored and people have to understand that just because it's a slug gun ... it can still cause injury or death.

"Sometimes [people], particularly children, make mistakes -- but they do need the community singing the same song to reinforce the message that these things are unacceptable.

"Animals may be shot on a farm but you need to make sure that the animal is shot cleanly and not left in pain."

Dr Ward-McGrath will be conducting a forensic examination to try to determine whether the animals were shot with a rifle or a slug gun.

"If it's a firearm that's been used then obviously we'd like the teenager and the owner of the firearm spoken to."

The cat was discharged from vet care last week and it is hoped she will make a full recovery.