A Lija man was conditionally discharged for six months for setting up a cat trap in his yard after his neighbours complained to animal welfare authorities that their pets had gone missing.
When welfare offices inspec-ted the house of 63-year-old Albino Borg last April they found a trap containing a rabbit-head which he used as bait.
They also found cat scratch marks and bits of fur inside the wooden contraption which was placed at the bottom of a flight of outdoor stairs leading into his yard.
Officers did not find cats in the trap so the court cleared Mr Borg of the charge of animal cruelty on lack of evidence. The cats are still missing.