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  Trackers Close in on Antrim Big Cat

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Yorkshire Today

Trackers Close in on Antrim Big Cat

Yorkshire Today: 24th September 2003

   
The net was closing on a big cat running wild on Ulster's north coast, police said last night.
Police and animal welfare chiefs said they had narrowed the 150 square mile search down to a wooded area near the village of Ballybogey, outside Portrush, Co Antrim.
The big cat – thought to be either a puma or a panther – has been blamed for mauling several sheep after being set loose by a rogue owner who faced prosecution once it was caught, police said.
Police marksmen are on standby to shoot the exotic animal, which has eluded capture for more than a month.
Even though the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also has tranquilliser guns ready, a police spokesman said: "The bottom line is it will probably be killed. We would like to be able to dart it but the problem with that is you have to get up close and nobody has been able to do that."
There have been more than 20 sightings of the animal in the north Antrim area since August.
As police stepped up their attempt to catch the cat, an intense dawn to dusk operation involving officers and the USPCA was carried out.
Members of the public who saw the animal were urged to telephone the authorities and stay on the line until help arrived. At least three reports were made yesterday.
"We are concentrating on a wood near Ballybogey we believe the cat may be in," the spokesman said.
USPCA chief executive Stephen Philpott said that with an enclosure at a sanctuary prepared for the cat he hoped it would not have to be killed.

Do you have any information on the above reports. Were you the person involved, or are you aware of any more sightings in this area. We would appreciate any information that you could give us.

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