VIDEO: Controversy as firemen spray cat with water to get it off telegraph pole

The controversial rescue of a cat in Gran Canaria has caused uproar among animal lovers, after it climbed to the top of a telegraph pole, and either couldn’t or wouldn’t come down. The fire brigade were called, but they decided that the easiest way to get it down was by spraying it with their fire hoses, an action that has been condemned by the leales.org animal welfare association.

The incident took place yesterday afternoon in the neighbourhood of Tenoya, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, when a member of Leales spotted the cat in a dangerous position, saying it looked ‘visibly scared’. After trying to entice it to come down, they called the fire brigade to help.

When they arrived, firemen decided that the post, the cat was at the top of, was too unstable to climb and feared that the cat would pounce on them if they tried to rescue it, something that people now watching the incident, weren’t happy about.

Subsequently, as you can see in the video, one of the firefighters sprayed a water hose at the electrified area where the cat was trapped. This immediately caused uproar as people claimed it was endangering the life of the animal, because it could electrocute the cat, cause a short circuit, a blackout, or even a fire, in addition to the fact of not knowing if the cat would survive if it fell.

After the ‘unusual’ and unpopular attempt to rescue the cat, firefighters left saying that there was nothing they could do, and the City Council were informed who sent street lighting operators to rescue the animal with a cherry picker.

Leales.org have confirmed that after the rescue the cat was taken to a vet for a check-up, and if it doesn’t have an identification chip, it will be published on their website as being found and after 10 days will be up for adoption.