Owner wants law change after dead cat found at tip

Sue Meade's three-year-old cat Murphy was found dead at a tip

A pet owner is calling for a change in the law after her cat was found dead inside a bin at a local tip.

Sue Meade, 63, said she was heartbroken after receiving a message to say that the body of three-year-old Murphy had been dumped at a recycling centre in Newark, Nottinghamshire, on 13 November.

While the cause of how Murphy died remains unknown, animal charity Beauty's Legacy, which has been helping Sue since the incident, suspects her pet may have been hit by a car.

Ms Meade is now urging for tougher laws to be introduced requiring people who have struck a cat with their car to report it.

Murphy was a big part of Sue's family

Ms Meade said the way her cat had been dumped before being identified through his microchip was "callous."

"We noticed he was missing in the morning, and I was looking and calling out for him before I got the message," she said.

"I couldn't believe anyone could do that...to just discard a cat in a bag and shove him in a tip.

"He was still wearing a collar. He was clearly somebody's pet - and a huge part of our family."

She believes the law needs to be changed to help families get closure if their pet goes missing in this situation.

"People must report it if they hit a cat with their car - that cat could be saved and taken to the vets," she said.

"I'd hate to think that another family has to sit at home, agonising like we are."

Law 'outdated'

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, drivers must report an accident if they hit a horse, cattle, ass, mule, sheep, pig, goat or dog - but cats are not included in the law.

Beauty's Legacy has been campaigning for this to change for the past decade, witht the charity's owner Lisa Dean branding the law "outdated."

"Most people are shocked when they hear that it isn't a legal requirement for people to report when a cat is killed in a road traffic accident," she said.

"Thousands of cats go missing every year, and a large number of these have been hit by a vehicle and left somewhere.

"It is not fair that other animals are included and cats aren't. It needs to change."

Ms Meade added that even if Murphy was not hit by a vehicle, it is the principle of reporting the incident that matters.

She said: "You should always report it if something like that happens - families deserve answers and to know what's happened to their cat.

"We're heartbroken that Murphy was put in a bin. He deserved better than that."