BLACKBURN Rovers groundstaff have been setting traps at Ewood Park in a bid to give the red card to cats fouling on the pitch.

Cat lovers said they were upset by the club’s actions which they felt could cause undue stress to beloved pets.

But Ewood Park bosses said they had to stop cats messing up the pitch and stands.

They said any animal with a collar on would be returned to its owner straight away.

Maureen Savage, who runs Moggies Cat Rescue, Darwen, said cats without a collar were being taken to a vet in Colne, more than 15 miles away, where they were scanned for microchips.

She said: “You can’t just trap cats and cart them off to the vet’s because they happen to go on Blackburn Rovers’ land. It is a heavy-handed way to do it.”

She said the club should have advised local residents to fit their pets with a quick-release collar before starting the crackdown.

It is thought the animals are lured into cages by the smell of food, but once in the trap they could not escape.

A Rovers spokesman said: “When feral cats have caused problems in the stadium, we have engaged a specialist company for advice on the best and most humane solutions.

“These have been isolated cases and we have no such issues at this time.”

But Margaret Whittaker, 88, of Bolton Road, Blackburn, said she would not let Teddy, her black tomcat, out of the house in case he got stuck in a trap.

She said: “You would have thought the club would have let residents know that they were catching cats at the stadium.

“I’ve lived here for more than 40 years and have never heard of this before.

"It would cause the cats a lot of stress and I’d be very worried if Teddy got caught in one of these traps.”

Terry Lawson, 72, also of Bolton Road, said he was not overly concerned for his cat, Sooty.

He added: “I hope that Rovers are doing the right thing with these cats and handing them back to their owners.

“I can see why it would worry some cat owners because they are so close to their pets.”

A spokesman for Colne-based Harvey Environmental Services Ltd confirmed the firm did do some work for Blackburn Rovers but the details were confidential.

He said most cats had microchips. When a domestic cat was trapped it would be released, he added.