100 cats feared to have been butchered by cat killer across South of England

More than 100 cats are reported to have been found mutilated across the South of England in the past year amid fears a prolific cat killer continues to operate across the region.

Forty severed cat corpses – as well as several butchered foxes and rabbits - have been collected with severed heads, tails and paws since October and are currently undergoing post-mortem examinations.

But the overall number of cats reported to have been murdered in a similar way over the past 18 months exceeds 100, according to South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL).

SNARL, which operates in the Croydon area, identified the recurring attacks in September last year, and have since been taking reports and collecting the butchered bodies to help police find the killer.

“Initially we were informed of 10 cases from around the Croydon area,” Boudicca Rising, co-founder of SNARL, told The Independent.

“We shared the stories on Facebook and other people from further afield started coming forward and saying the same had happened to their animals. There are now over a hundred that we know about.”

The RSPCA is currently carrying out post-mortem examinations on the animal corpses and Scotland Yard has been investigating the case since late-January.

Tony Jenkins, the other co-founder of SNARL, said: “We’ve had cases as far as Luton, plus two in Surrey, with a possible third as far as Farnborough. Other reports have been from all over London including Richmond, Kingston, Stepney and Finchley.

“So calling the culprit the Croydon Cat Killer is inaccurate – it’s misleading. It’s happening right across the South.”

Post-mortem tests have so far confirmed the animals died from 'blunt force trauma', and some have speculated the culprit is luring them in and then using brute force such as batting or kicking to kill them, before mutilating the bodies and leaving the animals where they were found.

“Blunt force trauma doesn’t necessarily mean the animal was hit by a car,” said Mr Jenkins. “Some of the cats have had undigested chicken in their stomachs, which suggests the killer is luring the cats. Blunt force trauma could be a baseball bat or a kick.

“It looks like the killer takes them away and does what he does then puts the cat back where he finds them. It is often right on people’s doorsteps or driveways. The killer clearly wants the dead animals found."

While the majority of the victims have been cats, similar attacks have also taken place on foxes and rabbits.

Among the reported murders there have been three unconfirmed reports of foxes being beheaded, one confirmed report of a fox with no ears and a case of two pet decapitated rabbits found by their owner laying side-by-side in a secure hutch.

“It’s not just the poor animals suffering, it is the owners as well,“ said Mr Jenkins. ”For some people the cat is part of their family. It’s a little furry human. So this is really horrific. People are really devastated by it.

“Cruelty to animals has been going on forever. But these cases are very particular, that’s why they stand out.

Ms Rising added: “This isn’t someone coming home and kicking the dog because they’re frustrated at work. This is very deliberate. It’s an attack on people as well. Some people have been completely violated by the whole thing.

"The police can only act on physical evidence, which is why we’ve been collecting the bodies. There is now quite a collection of physical evidence so we hope the murderer will be caught soon."