WALES – Two members of staff at Betws y Coed hotel have been fired after a feral cat was killed on the premises.
Glenn Evans, who is the manager of the Royal Oak Hotel today admitted “we messed up” and apologized for the cat’s death after initially claiming it was “humanely euthanized”.
The venue has received a firestorm of criticism after it was revealed the RSPCA was investigating amid claims the cat named Cali had been bludgeoned to death with a rolling pin.
Just earlier this week, Mr. Evans claimed that Cali was “posing a threat” and that staff had spent eight hours trying to capture it.
He denied the rolling pin claim but is now refusing to say how the cat was killed.
‘We messed up …we are deeply sorry’.
Just today, the hotel boss revealed two workers had been canned after admitting they did not follow company policy or procedures and “acted independently”.
Mr. Evans stated: “We messed up – easy as that – we are deeply sorry and we are embarrassed that we didn’t deal with the situation as quickly as we should have.”
“We were waiting for the RSPCA to get back to us and we shouldn’t have waited, we should have just dealt with the two individuals concerned in the incident.”
He then went on to reveal that other hotel staff has since been subjected to verbal abuse and violent threats.
“The rest of the team, who work incredibly hard for the good of the business, the village, and their families have been subject to verbal abuse and violent threats and have suffered emotionally themselves when they have had no knowledge or involvement in what happened.”
‘The Staff have faced threats of violence’
He went on to say: “As of Wednesday the two individuals were suspended and have since been dismissed from the company.
“We were informed on Thursday by the RSPCA that they will be continuing their investigation but that will be a matter between the RSPCA and the individuals concerned.
“We have been deeply affected by the impact this has had on the village and the people who work and live here and can only apologize for the anxiety, frustration, and hurt they have felt.”
Mari Martin Matthews, who lives just two doors down from the hotel, is claiming she had cared for the cat in recent weeks and had even given it the name of Cali.
The 45-year-old stated: “She was a beautiful little thing, was mostly white with some tabby cat stripes.
“Cali was not vicious, in fact, a tiny little thing around 16 weeks old and was delicate like a ballerina.”
The hotel’s Facebook and Twitter page have both been taken down after being flooded with negative comments.
‘It will take a lot of hard work to regain the public’s confidence’
Mr. Evans went on to say: “We are a family run business who knows the importance of community and pulling together, especially after the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001 when many businesses had to either close or restructure in order to survive.
“We are very aware that many local people rely on us and other hotels in the area to support their businesses and this incident has affected them as well. We know we have also failed them in not acting swiftly.
Mari Martin Matthews was hoping to adopt the feral cat killed at the Royal Oak in Betws y Coed
“The individuals involved did not follow company policy or procedures and at no time sought our advice, they acted independently of any company or regulatory instruction.
“We can now only look to supporting the team and revisiting the structure of the training and support whilst awaiting an outcome from the RSPCA.
“We have taken advice from specialists within the industry and will be implementing their recommendations and guidance immediately.
“We know it will take a lot of hard work to regain the public’s confidence in us. We are very sorry we didn’t deal with this incident in the appropriate manner in the first instance and take full responsibility for that.”
Disgusting!
