0:00:00 > 0:00:02Good afternoon. RSPCA Control Centre.
0:00:02 > 0:00:04Is the cat still breathing?
0:00:04 > 0:00:07- No.- You don't think it's breathing.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09Every 30 seconds,
0:00:09 > 0:00:13someone calls the RSPCA about an animal that needs help.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18I'll pass this information through to the officer.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20From neglected pets to injured wildlife.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26For the trained inspectors, every shift is a challenge.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27In the field!
0:00:27 > 0:00:29That's disgusting.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31We can't leave this situation as it is.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37Now they tell us what it's really like on the Animal Frontline.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39No day, really, is the same.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42We have piggies!
0:00:42 > 0:00:44It never ceases to amaze me.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48I go to bed thinking about it and I wake up thinking about it.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51What makes a good RSPCA inspector?
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Nerves of steel, stomach of iron,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56and a sense of humour!
0:01:08 > 0:01:11Today, a call to a dog in serious danger.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20The cat stuck on a roof but enjoying the high life.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22It's going after its dinner now!
0:01:24 > 0:01:26And, for Inspector Claire Fisher,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29a surprising find on a Liverpool housing estate.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31We have piggies!
0:01:31 > 0:01:35In my mind I was thinking, "Pigs... Where do I start?"
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Hunting wild animals has been part of British life for centuries.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46But nowadays the creatures that live in our countryside
0:01:46 > 0:01:48are protected by law.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Forcing one animal to kill another is illegal,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54but that doesn't stop some people.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00For inspectors, seeing animals pitched against each other
0:02:00 > 0:02:03for sport is one of the most distressing calls of all.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09It's just horrific. It really is.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12I mean, what these people class as a sport
0:02:12 > 0:02:16is just sheer, sheer cruelty, really.
0:02:18 > 0:02:24That sort of barbaric sport, as you might call it, has no place
0:02:24 > 0:02:28in society today. The only place it has got is in our history books.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Wildlife crime is notoriously difficult to prove.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35But when the perpetrators film themselves
0:02:35 > 0:02:39and the video is seized, it can provide vital evidence.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43Right, I'm just starting this video camera now.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47This footage was filmed by two men using their dogs to maul a fox.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53We received a call from someone who had some film footage
0:02:53 > 0:02:55on their mobile phone.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00Right, boys, I'm sorry to say but we're just getting a fox.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02The mobile phone footage was quite horrific.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05There's the hole we got him from. And there's the fox, boys.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Most of what happens in the video is too distressing to show.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18They're holding it up off the ground. They're teasing it.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22There's terriers around. The terriers are having a go at it.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Snapping at it.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29With the help of the police, the men in the video were tracked down.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35And today, RSPCA inspector Jaqui Miller and
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Northumberland Police are mounting an operation to arrest them.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41Welcome, everyone, to this morning.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Today, we'll be doing a warrant under the Animal Welfare Act
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Section 20/3/1.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Up here in the north-east,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53it's quite...I suppose you could say the word traditional.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56And it's sort of ingrained in certain areas
0:03:56 > 0:04:00and it's something that they do and they don't see it as being wrong.
0:04:04 > 0:04:05You keep the tails as souvenirs.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13I bet you weren't expecting that were you? Dogs fighting like that.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15And it makes me feel quite sick.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Jaqui hopes that as well as making arrests,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26they'll also be able to rescue the dogs involved.
0:04:26 > 0:04:32We're looking to get into the properties, seize any dogs that are
0:04:32 > 0:04:37at the property, looking for ones that have scars or injuries to them.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39Everybody happy with that?
0:04:39 > 0:04:41The team head to the first address.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45For Jaqui, it's the culmination of weeks of work,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47and the stakes are high.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51It's a mixture of all sorts of emotions
0:04:51 > 0:04:53when you're doing these sort of jobs.
0:04:53 > 0:04:58Excitement, a little bit. A little bit of adrenaline rush maybe.
0:04:58 > 0:04:59Apprehension.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06You've just got to control your anger, I think, when you get in there,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09and be professional with these people and do your job.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12When they arrive,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16Jaqui and the police move quickly to take the suspect by surprise.
0:05:16 > 0:05:17You rock up, you get out of the vehicles,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19you're straight to the property.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23I'm going to caution you. You do not have to say anything
0:05:23 > 0:05:25but it may harm your defence if you don't mention
0:05:25 > 0:05:28when questioned something which you later rely on in court.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29That first property,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33there was no other animals in there except a family pet.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36But there was a lot of other evidence that would relate
0:05:36 > 0:05:39to possible, you know...fox digging.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41What would you call this? A pick?
0:05:41 > 0:05:44- Yeah, that's a pick, isn't it? - We've got two jackets, haven't we?
0:05:44 > 0:05:45Two bags.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52There was a lot of clothes in that particular property that were
0:05:52 > 0:05:54the clothes that they were wearing on the film footage.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Then you think, "Yes, we've got you here.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05"You can't be doing a runner now."
0:06:08 > 0:06:12Arresting the men responsible is a big part of this operation.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16But Jaqui also needs to find the dogs seen on the video.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Go on, Cass. Good dogs.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24They could've been seriously injured during the attack on the fox.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30The fox itself, I think, at one point, snaps back at the dogs
0:06:30 > 0:06:33and you hear one of the dogs yelp.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37You hear them say one of the dogs being snotted.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43It's a slang word for that they've been
0:06:43 > 0:06:46got by the fox around its muzzle area.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51And that in itself is some sort of trophy that they've got.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Erm, "My dog's been snotted."
0:06:53 > 0:06:57So it's a good thing to have... they have scars around their nose.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03When Jaqui and the police arrive at the next address,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06they quickly find what they're looking for.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08As soon as we get in to the second property,
0:07:08 > 0:07:15in the back garden there's a black terrier and a female Jack Russell.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Hello, Cas! Good girl.
0:07:18 > 0:07:19Hello!
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Both of them fitting the descriptions of the dogs
0:07:22 > 0:07:24that was on the film footage.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27And you can actually hear on the film footage the names of the dogs.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Cas and Tiny are just putting him to ground.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37To walk through the door to find the dogs
0:07:37 > 0:07:39that was on that film footage...
0:07:40 > 0:07:44It doesn't usually happen like that. Or it doesn't often happen like that.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54The man's arrested and Jaqui can now get the dogs.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58- Tiny the terrier.- Good lad!
0:07:58 > 0:08:00Cas the Jack Russell.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02And Meg the lurcher.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05It's a great result.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08Jaqui and the police have got everything they came for.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15The dogs are all examined by the vet,
0:08:15 > 0:08:19and their injuries are all consistent with fox-digging.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Presenting the two terriers
0:08:21 > 0:08:25and the lurcher to the vet with all these scars around the face
0:08:25 > 0:08:30and the chipped tooth, erm, it creates a bigger picture
0:08:30 > 0:08:33and gives more evidence that these animals have been used
0:08:33 > 0:08:35for this type of work.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37There's a little puncture wound there.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40She's missing her right upper canine.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42That looks like an old injury there.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45This was pure deliberate cruelty.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Not only on the fox, but on the dogs, as well.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53The two men arrested admitted being involved in the baiting of the fox
0:08:53 > 0:08:58and causing unnecessary suffering to the fox and their own dogs.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03They both received an 18-week suspended sentence
0:09:03 > 0:09:06and were banned from keeping dogs for life.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14All three dogs have now been found new and loving homes.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19It's extremely satisfying when you get someone to court for this...
0:09:19 > 0:09:22you know, just for this cruelty.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26You go from a piece of footage that you don't even know who on earth
0:09:26 > 0:09:29these people are, on a mobile phone, to track them down, to locate them,
0:09:29 > 0:09:34to locate the animals and then bring them through to court for justice.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36A little light bulb goes off in your head and you think,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38"Yes! Great! Fantastic!"
0:09:49 > 0:09:52In Merseyside, some residents have been complaining about a pet owner
0:09:52 > 0:09:55causing a bit of a stink in their neighbourhood.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Inspector Claire Fisher is on her way to investigate.
0:10:15 > 0:10:16A part of me is thinking,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18"There's never going to be pigs.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20"It's a terraced house...in Bootle!"
0:10:22 > 0:10:25I seriously thought somebody was just taking the mick.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30But one of the calls also suggests one pig could be ill.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34We've now had a call saying that one of the pigs has collapsed.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37So just on sort of welfare grounds, we're just going to go
0:10:37 > 0:10:41and see that all of them are OK and upright.
0:10:41 > 0:10:46My knowledge of pigs is, erm... kind of limited!
0:10:46 > 0:10:48I'm in Liverpool.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51It's a city. You don't generally get pig complaints.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58When I got to the job, erm, big double gates.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01There was no way I was seeing over them.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05I could smell something and I could maybe hear a few little noises.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08But I couldn't see over so the best thing to do, really,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12was get my van next to the fence, jump up on the bonnet,
0:11:12 > 0:11:16hope the bonnet doesn't collapse, and, yeah, have a little peek.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23We have piggies! Which, as you can see, is a bit random.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Middle of a housing estate -
0:11:26 > 0:11:30not quite the location that you expect to see them.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Cats and dogs, that's what I deal with normally.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38In my mind, I was thinking, "Pigs... Where do I start?"
0:11:40 > 0:11:44Can I come and have a nosey in yours? Is that all right?
0:11:44 > 0:11:47The report suggests one of the nine pigs is seriously ill.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49One, two, three, four, five...
0:11:49 > 0:11:50Claire does a head count.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54Nine. Everybody's up, everybody's about so no-one's collapsed.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00The main issue that I had was overcrowding.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04You know, if you think of the normal size of a yard in Liverpool,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07and put nine pigs in it.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09There's just no space, it was overcrowded.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Healthy pigs, but they obviously couldn't live there.
0:12:13 > 0:12:14It wasn't suitable.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18It's very, very, very muddy. Very muddy.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21There is a shed that they can get access to.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25It's not healthy for them to be living in such a thick slurry.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29The high fence disguises the mess,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32but it doesn't stop the stench wafting over.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Can you smell it? Disgusting.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38- So I assume in the summer you're trying to sit out and...- You can't!
0:12:38 > 0:12:39You can't sit out. No.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41I really felt for the neighbour,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45living next door, because you've got the poo, you've got the mud,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47the general smell.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52Flies... summer - that would be horrendous.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55- Not nice.- I'm frightened it goes on the washing, the smell.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57- You know, things like that.- Yeah.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00So I just don't know what to do.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03Claire decides the pigs need moving.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06But she needs permission from the owner, who isn't here.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13I'd been told by locals that the owner was a female who's on holiday.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17Apparently the thought was, this woman didn't want the pigs anyway.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21She'd started with one, it had gone a bit out of control.
0:13:22 > 0:13:28Then a surprise passer-by. The pig owner's daughter appears.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Is your mum on holiday at the minute?
0:13:30 > 0:13:33She is. She should be back tomorrow, I think.
0:13:33 > 0:13:39Mum, I believe, thought the first pig that she bought was a micro-pig.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43Didn't quite turn out that way. Big, big pig.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47She's not as big as pigs I've seen on a farm.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50- But she's still...- Yeah.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55People are selling them as micro-pigs, and this is where,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58six months down the line, they're getting big,
0:13:58 > 0:14:02and people are thinking, "I think that's a bit big for a micro-pig!"
0:14:04 > 0:14:06You know, it's a case of, oh, go on, have a micro-pig!
0:14:06 > 0:14:09- Yeah, a little accessory. - Yeah, it's gone a bit nuts.- Yeah.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14And Claire discovers how one small sow turned into a family of nine.
0:14:14 > 0:14:21- She was looking after a farmer's pig. - She didn't bring a male in, did she?
0:14:21 > 0:14:26She's then, for whatever reason, had another pig come to stay with it.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29Can you see where this is going? Male. Female.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31Get it on.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33When she said the pig was pregnant,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35I just knew it was a disaster from day one.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39The youngsters are starting to get a tad friendly, shall we say?
0:14:39 > 0:14:42So, brothers and sisters... never a good combination.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44I'm an animal lover but I wouldn't have them pigs.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47We've got animals all over our house but I certainly wouldn't have them.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50- Pigs are a whole different thing. - Yeah.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56It's frustrating when you see people that get pets
0:14:56 > 0:15:00and either haven't looked into it, they don't know what they're
0:15:00 > 0:15:03expecting, they don't know how big something's going to get.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06It's a bit of a nightmare and I do wish, to be honest, that people
0:15:06 > 0:15:09would just think about things a bit more.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Apparently, what we're told,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14is that the owner is wanting re-home of them,
0:15:14 > 0:15:18but this isn't going to be a, "We'll re-home your pigs in 48 hours!"
0:15:18 > 0:15:20That's just not going to happen.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26But thankfully, within weeks, there was a happy ending for everyone.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Especially the not-so-micro pigs.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33Once I'd left the property and the pigs behind,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36we found that there was a home lined up for them.
0:15:36 > 0:15:37Somebody was willing to take them.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41So, to me, that was a massive thumbs up.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44I was chuffed that they were going to a farm,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46which is where they should've been in the first place.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Good afternoon, RSPCA National Control Centre,
0:15:54 > 0:15:56can I take your name, please?
0:15:56 > 0:15:58At the National Control Centre,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01operators deal with hundreds of calls a day.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03Is there any other animals at the location
0:16:03 > 0:16:05or is it just this dog that's there?
0:16:05 > 0:16:08It's their job to prioritise animals in need of urgent help.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13We do get call after call after call.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Any number of those calls could be an emergency situation,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19it could mean life or death for an animal.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37This emergency call concerns an address
0:16:37 > 0:16:39right in the heart of London.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44RSPCA inspector Claire Dew is despatched to investigate.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50I'd had numerous calls to this address previously about a dog
0:16:50 > 0:16:51being out on the balcony,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53but this was the first time anyone had called
0:16:53 > 0:16:54to tell us that it was tied up.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56So I went straight round there and had a look.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00There's a good girl. Hello!
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Any dog on a balcony that's off the ground floor is bad enough,
0:17:03 > 0:17:05but the very fact you've tied it up out there
0:17:05 > 0:17:08so it couldn't move or even sit down,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10that's an immediate job for me.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13The call was correct.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16- Can I get through from here? - Yeah.- Cool, thank you.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18But, as Claire rushes to get upstairs,
0:17:18 > 0:17:22other residents have also picked up the phone.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26- Guys in the ground floor flat number - BLEEP,- as soon as they saw me, on the phone.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29I've been in the job long enough to know they're ringing the guy upstairs.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32There's authority and they want to know what we're doing there.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34They're letting everyone else on the block know we're there.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39Hello, it's the RSPCA. Open the door or I'm coming in anyway.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41The very length of time he's taking to answer the door,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43I know he's bringing the dog in.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46He can probably look out of his back window and see the RSPCA van parked in the street.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48He'll know why I'm there.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50Right. Coming in.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Right, what's going on? Why is the dog out on the balcony?
0:17:53 > 0:17:56It's a dog. When you live in the country, where do dogs live?
0:17:56 > 0:17:58On the ground, on the ground floor. In a garden.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01You can't put a dog in a flat on a balcony, right?
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Four floors up. Come here, baby.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06My first priority obviously is checking the dog.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10Yeah, it's thin-ish, but it's not concerning enough for me
0:18:10 > 0:18:11to be doing too much about it.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13What is concerning me is the way that the dog's living
0:18:13 > 0:18:16because the way that this gentleman and his girlfriend
0:18:16 > 0:18:17are now living in that property.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21The dirty old food on the floor, dirty drinks cans.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Tyson appears hungry and is sniffing around for food.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Claire's worried he could harm himself,
0:18:28 > 0:18:32but to help him she knows she needs to help his owners.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35I'm not there to criticise, I'm not there to judge.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37My opinion of their situation doesn't help.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39I'm just there to try and do the best for the animal,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42and if that includes social work, well then so be it.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44If that gets the job done, then I'll do it.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47I promise after you leave today, I'm going to clean up the house.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Well I'm going to give you a formal notice to do it.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51And I am going to come back.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57An official warning gives them seven days to clean things up.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00So I've told you that your dog is not been kept in clean conditions
0:19:00 > 0:19:02- and it's being kept on the balcony. Yes?- Mm-hmm.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04I've said that you can't keep it on the balcony
0:19:04 > 0:19:05- and you need to tidy up. Yes?- Yes.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07- And I'm giving you a week to do it. Yes?- Yes.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Good man.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11This is a situation that occurs time and time again.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14They're not coping for some reason, and if I can in some way
0:19:14 > 0:19:17break that cycle, whether it by a verbal warning or just
0:19:17 > 0:19:20giving them a kick up the butt to do something about it,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23that's sometimes all it needs to improve that animal's environment.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33But sadly, just two days later,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36Claire receives a call from someone else worried about the dog.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43Just had a call from a housing officer that I know,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46who has informed me that the address that we dealt with
0:19:46 > 0:19:48a couple of days ago, the dog on the balcony, where the young
0:19:48 > 0:19:51couple were really struggling, the flat was absolutely disgusting...
0:19:51 > 0:19:53They appear to have done a bunk.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Tyson has been left without food or clean water.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Claire wants to get him out as quickly as she can.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04Nothing had changed. Exactly the same mess, exactly the same smell.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07The only situation was the dog was inside and not on the balcony.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Tyson! Hello! Good boy.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12I'm going to take you somewhere really nice in just a minute.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13Good boy.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15Tyson is starving.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17Come on. Tyson!
0:20:17 > 0:20:20The conditions that the dog's been living in,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23I mean how can this possibly be a clean and safe environment?
0:20:23 > 0:20:25It's just crazy.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Claire takes photos for evidence of the dog's poor living conditions
0:20:29 > 0:20:32in case she has to seize the dog under the animal cruelty act.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Well, he's obviously made no attempt to even do anything
0:20:35 > 0:20:38I've asked him to do when I spoke to him two days ago,
0:20:38 > 0:20:39even though I formally cautioned him.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42And he's made not even one single attempt to start, which,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44am I surprised about?
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Not really. This happens time and time and time again.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50It's not unusual. They're in this environment,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52they have no idea how to look after themselves, let alone
0:20:52 > 0:20:54look after an animal, and this is what happens.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01When Claire checks, Tyson is actually registered to the man's mother.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05She agrees to sign him over, and that means he can be re-homed.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Come on, I'll take you somewhere where there's something to eat.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09Come on, let's go.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11I'm pleased with it from the animal's point of view
0:21:11 > 0:21:14cos I've done something to help the animal's situation,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17but now those people have got no incentive to sort themselves out.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21And I know that's not necessarily my job or my concern, but now there are
0:21:21 > 0:21:24two people who have no real reason to start to look after themselves.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26In you get. There's a good boy.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29It makes me really sad to see.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30That's no life at all, is it?
0:21:37 > 0:21:39What animal are you calling about today?
0:21:44 > 0:21:47It's one of the most common calls to the RSPCA.
0:21:48 > 0:21:49And what colour is the cat?
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Just in case anyone's reported him missing.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56A cat that's got stuck up high and won't or can't get down.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04Today, Inspector Trevor Walker is responding to one such mischievous moggy.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10The call had come in to say that there was a cat on a roof,
0:22:10 > 0:22:16which is so commonplace now it's unbelievable.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18It's a natural ability that they have, to climb up.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21What they don't have is the ability to climb down.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25And they do. They climb trees, they climb all sorts of things.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28Cat's been there since two o'clock yesterday afternoon.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34It was a two-storey building, but by the time you'd got
0:22:34 > 0:22:38the steepness of the roof, it ended up being like a three-storey building.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41So we are talking about probably 60 feet
0:22:41 > 0:22:43to the top of the ridge tiles.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46It's an old cat is that one, isn't it?
0:22:46 > 0:22:49It's got a collar on it and a bell, by the looks of it.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51Must be really frightened.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Has it attempted to get down onto this flat roof, then, or not?
0:22:54 > 0:22:57No. It's gone backwards and forwards.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02This cat was traversing the ridge tiles about 60 foot,
0:23:02 > 0:23:06so it was constantly moving, which is a nightmare.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08It's the last scenario that you need.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14Trevor's trained in ladder rescues but the cat's too high.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17He's no choice but to call the fire service.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20I'll be on the main street so they'll see me
0:23:20 > 0:23:22at the end of the sets of shops.
0:23:22 > 0:23:23Cheers. Bye-bye.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28They're sending the hydraulic platform down.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32But they will probably have to close off the street, I'd have thought.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34The cat seemed particularly happy. The number of times
0:23:34 > 0:23:38when it just kind of sat at the side of the chimney pot
0:23:38 > 0:23:41and just started grooming itself without a care in the world.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46It's going after its dinner now!
0:23:49 > 0:23:50The cat may be happy,
0:23:50 > 0:23:53but the cavalry have arrived to get her down.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00They decided that they were going to put a fire officer up
0:24:00 > 0:24:02onto the ridge tiles.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04I think we could probably just tease it along
0:24:04 > 0:24:05and get him off from the end?
0:24:05 > 0:24:09If it were sensible enough, he can see how easy he can come down.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11You know. But they're just nuts, man.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Officers scale the roof to try and lure the cat over.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19But she's got other plans.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22The cat decided it was going to go to the other chimney stacks.
0:24:22 > 0:24:23So the cat just walked away from him.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26There was nothing that the fire officer could do.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35It's got its 30 seconds of fame and it just doesn't realise it.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38But there's more than one way to catch a cat.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40Time for a little bribery.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43He's flashing some food at him at the moment now, like.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46Without any success!
0:24:50 > 0:24:55The cat's still not budging, so the fire service change tack.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58So they decided, then, that what they were going to do was get the HP out,
0:24:58 > 0:25:00which is the hydraulic platform.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04They're going to extend the hydraulic platform,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06and try and drive the cat back
0:25:06 > 0:25:10towards the third chimney stack where the fire officer is, there.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15For some people who are obviously thinking that this is a misuse
0:25:15 > 0:25:18of the resources of the fire service,
0:25:18 > 0:25:22if there was any kind of an incident that developed at this moment in time,
0:25:22 > 0:25:24the fire service would drop everything here
0:25:24 > 0:25:27and shoot straight off and deal with any human casualties.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33The HP operator then decided he was going to try
0:25:33 > 0:25:36and move the cat in the right direction,
0:25:36 > 0:25:38which more often than not is impossible to do.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42You can probably promote a horse or a dog to go in the right
0:25:42 > 0:25:45direction, but it's very rare that it happens with a cat.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48And then the cat realised what was happening.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53This could have been an absolute disaster
0:25:53 > 0:25:56because we could have been there for a week.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Just going backwards and forwards and backwards and forwards.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07Go on, Bibby! Go on! Go on!
0:26:07 > 0:26:10It was moving, actually, along in the right direction, towards where
0:26:10 > 0:26:14the fire officer was hiding behind the other chimney stack.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Go on, just talk to him now then. Talk to him.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Good lad. Good lad.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23I'd already suggested that when the cat came anywhere near him
0:26:23 > 0:26:27that the officers should really make a grab for the cat.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29That's it, don't rush him. Don't rush him.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33And don't necessarily be particularly delicate with it.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34Good lad.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Excellent! He's got him now. Can you see him?
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Well done, that fella. Well scruffed.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45Well scruffed.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49But this cat's not coming quietly.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53If you can scruff him again. Try and scruff him again.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58That's the way. That's good. Spot on.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Excellent piece of scruffing. I thought he was going to go back!
0:27:02 > 0:27:04DOG BARKS
0:27:04 > 0:27:06That's probably why the cat went up in the first place!
0:27:06 > 0:27:09He's already spooked, is this, without that.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Hello, Bibby. Hello.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Once I'd got the cat down there, I checked the cat over.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19There was no issue with the cat whatsoever.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23It wasn't thin, lean, it was in good condition.
0:27:23 > 0:27:24Excellent piece of driving.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Do you just want to have a look on that collar,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30just see if there's a number on the collar? On that disc.
0:27:30 > 0:27:31And lo and behold,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34on the collar there was a disc with a telephone number on it.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37I've got a cat, a tabby, exactly like that.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39It's great when they get rescued.
0:27:39 > 0:27:45Obviously, he's petrified and starving, so a good end to a good day's work.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48All's well that ends well.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52And so I met the lady the following day with her cat,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56and they were both reunited and so everybody's happy.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59CAT MEOWS
0:28:27 > 0:28:31Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd