Net closes on North’s big cat
Police and animal welfare officers said they had narrowed the 150sq 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 faces prosecution once it is 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 bid to catch the cat, an intense dawn-to- dusk operation involving officers and the USPCA was carried out.
Members of the public who spotted the animal were urged to phone the authorities and stay on the line until help arrived. At least three reports were made yesterday.
"We are focusing on a wood near Ballybogey we think the cat may be in," the spokesman said.
If the animal is not caught the USPCA said that it should be left to settle in the countryside. Up to five other wild cats are believed to be on the loose in the North.
USPCA chief executive Stephen Philpott said the hunt had been tantalisingly close to success at one stage.
"We were very near to the animal but unfortunately it thwarted us," he said.
With tranquilliser equipment and a special enclosure at the society's animal sanctuary prepared for the cat, he hoped it would not have to be killed. But Mr Philpott accepted public safety was in the hands of the police.
"If I can get my men to it quickly enough it will come to my sanctuary to be cared for," he said.
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