Panic is spreading among pet owners in England after a suspected serial cat killer decapitated hundreds of felines and small animals over the past two years.
The unknown killer has been given many nicknames by the media, such as the Croydon Cat Killer and the U.K. Cat Killer, and has been accused of mutilating more than 400 cats, rabbits and foxes.
The U.K.’s Metropolitan Police have even launched a special task force, called Operation Takahe, specifically aimed at catching the animal killer.
In many of the cases, the animals were found with their limbs or tails cut off.
“Police believe an individual or a group of individuals … are responsible for both the deaths and mutilations,” police told the AFP.
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So far there have been no arrests, but a detective on the case told Sky News they have narrowed in on two or three suspects.
And while the list of cat victims grows ever longer, one question becomes more pressing: Is this just the first step for someone bent on killing?
“There is a known link between serial killers and harming animals when you look into their dark history,” police told Sky News.
“If you look at offending patterns, the assumption is this killer is getting some form of gratification. The concern is they will cease getting that gratification and escalate the attacks to humans, specifically vulnerable women and girls.”
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Local police are also advising pet owners how to keep their animals safe following the string of mutilations.
A British animal rescue shelter, South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL), said the killings started in 2015 in south London’s Croydon area.
At the time, the shelter said six cats went missing and then were found dismembered in the area, according to the BBC. SNARL said since then cats, have been killed in the same way in other parts of England.
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The shelter said it believes the same person is killing the animals because all of them were found mutilated in a similar way.
The suspect reportedly kills at night using pet food to attract the animals, the shelter said.
Tony Jenkins, co-founder of SNARL, told The Sun, “We think he gets off on putting the animals on display, preferably under the bedroom windows.
“Worryingly, we’ve even had a few put next to school playgrounds where little children would be. It looks like he kills them with blunt force trauma, waits for half an hour for the blood to stop circulating then cuts their heads off.”
Animal charities PETA and Outpaced are offering a combined reward of around C$17,000 for any information which leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for the killings.
— With files from AFP
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