Toward the end of 2018, the investigation into the Croydon cat killer was closed when the Metropolitan Police blamed foxes for the hundreds of cats and other small animal deaths and mutilations. At the time, Snarl and veterinarians working on the case disagreed with the finding’s, leading to thousands of people signing a petition to reopen the case. Fast forward to January and the case is once again making headlines.
The Observer reported that the belief that human involvement prevails among many veterinarian practices and individual police officers, who are reporting their concerns to Snarl, the animal rescue organisation that play such a huge role in the investigations of this case. The Metropolitan police closed the case after deciding that the cats were either killed on the road before being scavenged by wildlife, or caused by natural predators. However, other police involved in the investigation and veterinarians have found evidence that points to deliberate killings caused by humans.
Man Jailed for Cat Killings
In Northampton a man was recently jailed for cat mutilations and arson attacks in December 2018. SNARL has also been involved of at least seven cat killings that are yet to be solved. The evidence is now pointing towards more than one person being involved. Northamptonshire police released a statement in January 2019 stating that a dead, mutilated cat had been found that appeared to be caused by human hands.
Snarl has been dealing with a constant flow of incidents since the closure of the official case, ranging from between 2 to seven cases each week. On a few occasions the body parts of the cats were missing upon discovery, only to be returned once the corpse had been removed from the scene. The co-founder of Snarl, Tony Jenkins believes that there could be several people involved and doesn’t believe foxes are the cause.
Cat killings and mutilations have been discovered up in Manchester and Liverpool, Devon, and Cornwall. However, the majority are in the south east of London. This suggests that the person or persons travel around the south east. The reports are often passed over to Snarl from police officers themselves as many are concerned that the deaths are not being investigated.
Metropolitan Police told Not to Investigate
Veterinary practices are also concerned about the lack of investigation from the police. Streatham Hill Vets have dealt with several cat deaths. Many of which have consisted of clean surgical type mutilations such as beheading or amputations. They have publicly shared their findings on Facebook, stating that those mutilations weren’t not caused by wild animals or foxes.
Some police forces continue to investigate the killings. Snarl agrees that in some instance’s foxes were indeed playing a part, but not in all. Jenkins is certain that at least one person is killing cats and other small animals and that as a result “People still need to keep their pets indoors at night”
Protect Your Pets
This is a disturbing story but one that we believe needs to be shared publicly. Hundreds of animals, beloved pets that are part of loving families have lost their lives at the hands of one or more person(s). Keep your cats indoors, put locks on your rabbit hutches and access to your gardens, or speak to us about our cat containment systems.