Barunga West Council has issued a formal apology and paid compensation after rangers in the South Australian town of Port Broughton mistakenly euthanised a family’s pet Bengal cat in June.
Patrick, a three-year-old Bengal who went missing from his home on June 2, was trapped about 150 metres from his residence, taken to a local veterinary clinic on June 3 and euthanised within an hour after council staff initially concluded he was a stray. A microchip was found only after a second screening, following the procedure that ended the cat’s life.
The family, who received Patrick as a Father’s Day present in 2022, had spent the day after his disappearance putting up posters and searching the seaside town before being told their pet had been captured. Drew Shepherd, Patrick’s owner, said he was first told council staff had not caught Patrick but was later informed the cat had been among those taken and had already been euthanised. He described his reaction as disbelief and devastation.
In a public statement formally adopted at a council meeting, Barunga West Council said it "sincerely apologise[d] for the loss of Patrick" and accepted responsibility for the distress caused. The council has paid the family AU$3,640 in compensation plus an additional AU$300 for emotional distress. Chief executive Maree Wauchope said she would have been "furious and devastated" had the same happened to her pet.
Council rangers had been setting traps in response to complaints that roaming cats were causing a nuisance and impacting local businesses. Veterinary staff initially failed to detect Patrick’s microchip during the first scan, a finding that the council said came to light only after a second screening post-euthanasia.
As part of its response, Barunga West Council said it has overhauled procedures, ending the outsourcing of compliance and cat management and reinstating a "rehoming-first approach". Council records show that in the 2024-25 financial year 19 cats were euthanised and eight rehomed; in the first three months of the current financial year the council recorded 20 euthanisations and one rehoming.
Shepherd said the compensation did not make up for the loss and that his family remained devastated. He has spoken publicly about the incident in the hope similar mistakes will not happen to other families. The council said it has learned from the incident and is committed to ensuring it does not recur.
Daily Mail Australia, which first reported the incident, said it contacted Barunga West Council for further comment. The council’s apology and procedural changes mark an attempt to address local frustration over cat management and to prevent repeat errors where identification and verification checks fail.