A horrified grandmother saw her cat ripped to death by a pack of hunting hounds in her front garden.
Janet Clarke tried to fight off the pack of beagles with a stick but could not save 10-year-old Fluffy.
The retired laboratory researcher, 80, said: “I saw the cat being tossed in the air with about four hounds around it, pulling on it in sort of a tug of war.
“I was shouting and raving in a panic to try to save the cat but it there was no hope. It was bleeding from the mouth and had been completely pulled apart.
“I don’t know how the hounds got here. They had to cross two strips of woodland, a ditch and a neighbour’s garden.
“A lady with the hunt was very apologetic but I don’t know how they call it sport.”
Janet, from Kilpeck, Hereford, fears the hounds could return to attack three other cats she has rehomed at her cottage.
Janet said: “My three other cats Tigger, Hattie and Jake must have bolted up the garden and got away but Fluffy was just not quick enough.
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“I can still see the terror in his eyes every time I close mine. It will haunt me forever. He had lovely almond shaped eyes.
“I think he had a bit of Siamese in him too, and to see him look so scared was absolutely heartbreaking.
“Nobody from the hunt has come to offer an explanation as to how or why it had happened.
“One woman came with some flowers and said sorry but it’s little consolation really.
“Something needs to be done to stop this happening to somebody else.
“These hunts are supposedly abolished yet trained killer dogs can run around and hurt defenceless animals like this.
“They were obviously not well trained dogs, there was a pack of about 20 or 30 of them but all it takes is a few to stray off the scent for it to end in tragedy like this.
“It is like losing a member of your family.”
Son David, 49, added: “Anyone who is a hunt supporter just needs to witness the death of our cat and they will hopefully change their minds.”
Ross Harriers Hunt apologised for Fluffy’s death which happened while the hounds were supposed to be following a scent trail through nearby woods on Saturday.
Joint hunt master Anna Ernsting said: “Unfortunately a small number of the hounds strayed into the Clarkes’ garden through a hole in the hedge.”
West Mercia Police are investigating.
Hunt Details
Source: Daily Mirror
