A kitten has had to have its tail amputated after youths in County Down tied a rocket to it and set it alight.
The injured animal, who has been called Special Girl, was found in the garden of a house in Donaghadee on Sunday.
It was then brought to the Assisi Animal Sanctuary in Conlig, where it is being looked after.
Lara Foster, assistant manager at the sanctuary, said more needed to be done to regulate who fireworks are sold to.
"It was horrific, it is one of the worst injuries we have seen on an animal brought into us," she said.
"She must have been in such terrible pain. The fact that this injury was deliberately inflicted is beyond belief.
Ms Foster said they hoped to be able to rehome the kitten once it had recovered.
"This is a baby animal, a three to four-month-old kitten, who had approached the people who have done this," she said.
"It has shown a complete blind faith in people and has been rewarded with torture."
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