A woman keeps finding dead animals in her garden – and is keeping her cats and dogs inside for their own safety.
Laura Hansen, 59, says she’s found the corpses of a rat and a pigeon in the space of a week.
She previously believed the deaths were connected to a housing development being built behind her home in Newington, Kent, using rodent poison – something the developer has denied.
But mum Laura has now banned her pets -chihuahuas Hunni and Moose, and cats Big Ted and Lucky – from going outside, fearing they could suffer a similar fate.
‘They love going out there every day. If they’d eaten that poisoned rat or pigeon, they would have become poisoned too.
‘It’s made me really wary to keep my animals locked in. I don’t think that’s right.
‘My cats are used to roaming and they’re really struggling being kept indoors.
‘I’ve had to go out and buy cat litter trays and keep the cats inside. Obviously, I can take the dogs out on leads, but I can’t explain to the cats why they can’t go outside.’
She fears the issue could pose a serious threat to pets and wildlife across the village, adding: ‘Cats have a right to roam and they’re used to being out and about exploring.
‘Who’s going to pay the vet bills if something happens? I don’t want anything to happen to them. I have no idea when I’ll be able to let them out again, I’m just so worried.’
Laura, who has lived in the area for 17 years, says there has always been wildlife around her home because her garden backs onto the field where the homes are now being built.She added: ‘I’ve never found a poisoned animal in my garden before. To find two in one week was horrible
‘When a rat is poisoned it can take days to die. It wanders around and becomes weak, which means it becomes easy prey for other animals.