Witchcliffe man Douglas Frank Crappsley fined $6000 for using steel-jaw trap that inadvertently caught cat

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A 78-year-old Witchcliffe man has been fined $6000 for using a steel-jaw trap that resulted in a cat being caught in it and eventually had to have its leg amputated.

Douglas Frank Crappsley appeared in Bunbury Magistrates Court on Thursday after he was summoned to appear after previously entering an endorsed guilty plea to a charge of being cruel to an animal.

The court was told a six-year-old tabby cat had been roaming in the rear yard of Crappsley’s property when its right hind leg was caught in a rusty steel-jaw trap.

The cat’s carer at the time discovered the cat after hearing its cries of distress while looking for her on the morning of August 10 last year.

The cat’s leg was badly injured and bleeding in the trap and she was rushed to a local vet who was forced to amputate the leg after three weeks of treatment.

Crappsley told RSPCA inspectors that he had set the trap to catch rabbits and eventually surrendered the trap and intended on surrendering a second trap he owned as well.

In submissions, Crappsley said he wasn’t deliberately being cruel and questioned why the cat, who typically remained indoors, was outside in the first place but Magistrate Joanne Andretich said animals, including cats tend to roam freely.

In sentencing, Ms Andretich said it was likely the cat suffered considerable pain for a significant period of time and criticised Crappsley’s use of a “vicious” device to get rid of rabbits.

“(Steel jaw traps) are cruel, they’re illegal, they’re vicious and they shouldn’t be used to catch animals,” she said.

“Considering other animals can get caught in them and cause significant pain and suffering, they’re illegal for a reason.”

Along with the $6000 fine, Crappsley was also ordered to pay more than $3700 in compensation to the cat’s owner, as well as court costs.