Amelia Smitheram was amazed to see the level of support she received within 24 hours of setting up the online petition.
Some time between Wednesday night and Thursday morning last week her cat, Tom, was hit by a car and left in a driveway on Rectory Hill.
‘I can’t help but think that if the driver had stopped and reported it there may have been a chance we could have saved Tom’s life and he would still be with us today,’ Miss Smitheram said.
‘It breaks my heart to think that he was just abandoned at the side of the road to die alone and in pain. Accidents do happen but a phone call to report it only takes two minutes.
‘I was so upset and after we buried him in his favourite sun-bathing spot in the garden I just wanted to do something positive in his memory.’
Determined to stop this happening again in the future, Miss Smitheram started a petition, hoping to gain support from the States to give cats the same legal rights as dogs and other animals.
Under the Road Traffic (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2019, it is the duty of the driver to report an accident with an animal to the police within 24 hours if the owner of the animal is not present.
In this instance, horses, bovine animals, asses, mules, sheep, pigs, goats and dogs are defined as animals, cats are not included in the definition of animal in this ordinance.
Miss Smitheram said Guernsey is full of animal-lovers and hoped to give cats the same legal protection that other animals have.
‘What I would like to come from the petition is to have legislation passed making it mandatory for any road user who has an accident with a domestic animal to report it to the police, the GSPCA or Animal Aid.
‘I want to stop animals suffering unnecessarily and give them a much better chance of survival, or giving their families some closure.’
Animal Aid receive about 100 calls a year about cats which have been injured or killed on Guernsey roads and GSPCA staff are called out to between 200 and 300 of these incidents a year.
GSPCA manager Steve Byrne was on duty the night Tom was hit by a car and said breaking the news of the death of a much-loved pet is one of the hardest parts of working at the GSPCA.
‘As an animal welfare organisation we strive to ensure the animals of Guernsey are cared for and their welfare looked after.
‘The GSPCA believes that if an animal is harmed – however it has happened – those involved should do their very best for that animal, whether that is calling us or getting it to a vet.’
In the eyes of the law, cats and dogs are classed as personal chattels and as a consequence they can be bought and sold like any other property.
However, the law also recognises that cats, by nature, are less likely than dogs to cause injury to people or damage property and it is therefore accepted that they have more freedom to roam without the supervision of their owner – a likely explanation as to why cats are more frequently involved in road traffic accidents.
Mr Byrne said the current law was a ‘real shame’ and a survey run by the GSPCA revealed 95% of respondents believed the driver should report it.
The petition is available at https://bit.ly/2WiedKn.
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