Traps set to wipe out Orkney’s stoat population have inadvertently caught and killed family pets as well as hundreds of other animals.
Pet owners are concerned after four cats were killed and one was injured by traps – part of a £6million cull.
Other wildlife casualties include 242 rabbits, 48 mice, 18 hedgehogs, 10 voles and nine frogs and toads since the scheme launch in 2017, says cull coordinators the Orkney Native Wildlife Project (ONWP).
ONWP said the traps had since been modified with smaller entrance holes to prevent further cat deaths.
Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: “We hope planned alterations to the size of the entrance will prevent any further incidents happening.”
