PETA Offers Gbp1,000 To Nab Cat Killer

For Immediate Release:
28 January 2009

Contact:
Sam Glover 020 7357 9229, ext 229; [email protected]

Oxfordshire – According to news reports, a cat has died as the result of a horrific attack in Greater Leys on 19 January. The 12-year-old tabby, Kitty, was taken from the front yard of her home on Nightingale Avenue at around 5:30 pm. Kitty was then thrown to a pack of four dogs, who savaged her. A bystander intervened by yelling at the perpetrators. The cat was thrown into bushes and was then rescued. Sadly, she died later that evening as a result of her injuries, which included broken ribs, missing fur and heart and lung damage. Two teenage boys are believed to have been involved in this incident, which is the most recent in a number of attacks against animals in the area.

PETA is offering up to £1,000 as a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for this horrific crime.

PETA is also urging residents to keep a watchful eye on their animal companions and to keep them indoors. Because animals cannot report their own abuse and can do little to fight back, they are the perfect “practice” victims for those who tend towards violence.

Oxfordshire residents have good reason to be concerned. History shows that past incidents involving cruelty to animals regularly appear in the records of serial rapists and murderers. Child-killers Mary Bell, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables as well as serial murderers Ian Huntley, Thomas Hamilton (Dunblane massacre), Fred West, Denis Nilsen, Ian Brady and Jeffrey Dahmer all started out by deliberately harming animals.

“Animal abusers are cowards”, says PETA spokesperson Suzanne Barnard. “They take their issues out on the most defenceless beings available to them.”

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999 or the Thames Valley police on 0845 850 5505. All calls are confidential.

For more information about PETA, please visit PETA.org.uk