Is it legal for someone to shoot a cat?

[anonymous-user]

Serious question due to the following:

One of my tenants in a ground floor flat, rang me to complain about some of the other tenants keeping cats, and he wanted to know what my policies were on pets.
He said he didn't mind "'the odd one" but lots of people now had 'several' and they were fouling his garden area on a daily basis, and killing birds on his bird table, and climbing over his car.

I told him my rules were that i allowed pets as long as they did not cause a nuisance to other residents (a dog barking late at night for example).

He then informed me that the law classed dogs as domestic animals so were protected, but cats were classed as wild animals so could therefore be shot and killed. Something which he is considering doing with an air rifle or a catapult.

I advised him against this, but he said he was within his rights to shoot a cat if it was in his garden.

Can someone clarify this legal issue please, because if he carries out his shooting threat then I need to know if he has broken the law as it may require me to terminate his tenancy.

I must admit, I have had my fair share of issues from neighbours cats crapping in my garden and climbing all over my car, but I certainly don't approve of shooting one!

Thanks

[Greenwich Ross]

Technically no but I think you are allowed to swing them around by their tails in order to ascertain the size of a room.

[deevlash]

unfortunately cats are protected and you cant shoot them, youd end up in serious bother if you got caught. You can shoot them with water pistols to deter them though. Or just leave some boxes around, get the cat into the box, seal it and drive the little fker 50 miles away. I hate cats, the owners are selfish lazy tts who want a pet but dont want one they actually have to bother looking after so buy a cat and let it rome free, killing wildlife and spoiling peoples gardens.

Edited by deevlash on Monday 2nd August 16:11

[JB!]

deevlash said:

unfortunately cats are protected and you cant shoot them, youd end up in serious bother if you got caught. You can shoot them with water pistols to deter them though. Or just leave some boxes around, get the cat into the box, seal it and drop the little fker in a body of water 10 miles away.

EFA

[bluesandtwos]

No, you cant shoot a domestic cat. Even wild cats are a bit of a grey area, and although I am not involved in this area of shooting - my understanding is that any cat should be trapped and then taken to the RSPCA for identification - not shot. Wild cats can be put down by the RSPCA. If its a domestic cat they will re-home it.

IIRC.

[TonyHetherington]

Let's not turn this into a "i like/don't like cats" thread. We've had enough of them.Please just discuss the OP's question

[anonymous-user]

deevlash said:

unfortunately cats are protected and you cant shoot them, youd end up in serious bother if you got caught. You can shoot them with water pistols to deter them though. Or just leave some boxes around, get the cat into the box, seal it and drive the little fker 50 miles away. I hate cats, the owners are selfish lazy tts who want a pet but dont want one they actually have to bother looking after so buy a cat and let it rome free, killing wildlife and spoiling peoples gardens.

Edited by deevlash on Monday 2nd August 16:11

Erm, it's not me that's planning a murder but one of my tenants, as per my post.

But yes, I agree with you and personally think cats are a 'completely pointless pet'.

I really don't want a cat killing thread, I just wanted an answer to the legal issues, which I think I have got in a reply above.

Cheers.

Edited by NinjaPower on Monday 2nd August 16:21

[deevlash]

NinjaPower said:

deevlash said:

unfortunately cats are protected and you cant shoot them, youd end up in serious bother if you got caught. You can shoot them with water pistols to deter them though. Or just leave some boxes around, get the cat into the box, seal it and drive the little fker 50 miles away. I hate cats, the owners are selfish lazy tts who want a pet but dont want one they actually have to bother looking after so buy a cat and let it rome free, killing wildlife and spoiling peoples gardens.

Edited by deevlash on Monday 2nd August 16:11

Erm, it's not me that's planning a murder but one of my tenants, as per my post.

But yes, I agree with you and personally think cats are a 'completely pointless pet'.

yeah, I realised that half after Id typed "you'd" a few times, I was just too lazy to go back and change it

[CraigW]

np, for the sake of least hassle why not buy 3 cat repellant box things from homebase, will cost you/him however you play it, less than £50 in total, it should keep them away.

[anonymous-user]

CraigW said:

np, for the sake of least hassle why not buy 3 cat repellant box things from homebase, will cost you/him however you play it, less than £50 in total, it should keep them away.

Good call... I think I will invest in a couple to keep the peace.

[CraigW]

they worked well in my garden. Im not a cat lover but i wouldnt endorse killing them. i think at least this solution will demonstrate that you've made best efforts to appease everyone' good luck matey

[tvrgit]

NinjaPower said:

But yes, I agree with you and personally think cats are a 'completely pointless pet'.

Ultimately, all pets are pointless (with the possible exception of guide dogs and a few others).

I've never had pets for that reason - but I gave in to my daughters and now have a young cat who has never been outside the house. She is lovely, and has really become one of the family. I don't think she'll ever be allowed out unsupervised, we have a very fast busy road just over the fence.

[plasticpig]

Possibly. What your tenant needs to is purchase a lamb and tether it to a stake in his garden. He can then shoot the cats claiming they were worrying his livestock*

• No idea if this is actually legal or not. It works for farmers shooting dogs though.

[streaky]

tvrgit said:

NinjaPower said:

But yes, I agree with you and personally think cats are a 'completely pointless pet'.

Ultimately, all pets are pointless

Surely, pointers can't be pointless - Streaky

[slow_poke]

streaky said:

tvrgit said:

NinjaPower said:

But yes, I agree with you and personally think cats are a 'completely pointless pet'.

Ultimately, all pets are pointless

Surely, pointers can't be pointless - Streaky

Not at all. A pointer without a point is indeed, pointless.

[tvrgit]

streaky said:

tvrgit said:

NinjaPower said:

But yes, I agree with you and personally think cats are a 'completely pointless pet'.

Ultimately, all pets are pointless

Surely, pointers can't be pointless - Streaky

Streaky, I'm disappointed. I knew somebody was going to come back with that, but I never suspected it would be you. Your standards are slipping boy!

[Nick M]

deevlash said:

You can shoot them with water pistols to deter them though. Or just leave some boxes around, get the cat into the box, seal it and drive the little fker 50 miles away.

[jr502]

plasticpig said:

Possibly. What your tenant needs to is purchase a lamb and tether it to a stake in his garden. He can then shoot the cats claiming they were worrying his livestock*

+1

although a chicken would be cheaper

Domestic cats cannot be shot without a valid reason, to do so is criminal damage, feral cats can be shot.

The most worrying thing is that they said they would shoot it with an airgun/catapult. Both would be an easy way to get prosecuted for cruelty against animals, as neither would dispatch it humanely. I assume from the given info that its a garden, not a farm, which will mean you can't use a firearm there (well, extremely unlikely), so there would be no legally sound way to kill it. If it was a farm/lots of land then then it could be legal depending on circumstances.

[deevlash]

Nick M said:

deevlash said:

You can shoot them with water pistols to deter them though. Or just leave some boxes around, get the cat into the box, seal it and drive the little fker 50 miles away.

better

[bonsai]

I am intrigued to hear how you left the conversation.

You: No, I really must advise against shooting the neighbours' cats.
Tenant: ?????