(CN - HKG) Another cat torture in Hong Kong around X'mas

[Guest guest]

Apart from the below report, the local paper on 26 Dec, reported a

new cat torture in the same area where has faced a problem of

horrible cat kills. The report said that one cat was choked by

rubber band around his neck. No death was reported. In Hong Kong, the

local police will not take it seriously. People still poison

animals. People are not educated at school or by parents to take

care animals or even themself.

 

 

 

 

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/12/27/1198345138763.html

 

A serial cat killer who mutilates and tortures pets and stray

animals may be on the loose in Hong Kong, animal welfare groups

warned today.

 

Animal lovers believe police are not taking the attacks seriously

despite a series of cases in which kittens have been found chopped

up or with their rear legs hacked off, an allegation the police deny.

 

A group campaigning for tougher action to catch the culprit staged a

protest today at which they accused police of failing to follow up

the cases, the South China Morning Post reported.

 

In recent weeks, a month-old kitten has been found dumped outside a

supermarket with its rear legs chopped off and the halved torso of a

mutilated kitten has been found in the street.

 

A spokeswoman for one animal welfare group told the newspaper that

police showed little interest when cases were reported to them and

had failed to follow-up reports.

 

" If I were the killer and could see that the police were not eager

to catch me, I would not be afraid to kill more cats, " she told the

newspaper.

 

In November, around 500 people holding up banners and giant

cardboard cut-out cats took part in the demonstration for action to

stop the random attacks on cats, which animal groups believe may be

the work of one culprit.

 

Protesters say that when they report cases of animal abuse, which

they say occur at a rate of around 10 a month, police say they do

not have the resources to help them.

 

Animal lovers were horrified last year when a number of newborn

kittens were found with their legs snapped before being dumped on

the streets in Hong Kong's urban Mongkok district.

 

The Hong Kong government last year increased the penalty for acts of

animal cruelty from a maximum jail term of six months and a $A688

fine to three years in prison and a $A29,360 fine.

 

Keeping pets is a relatively recent practice in the former British

colony, where a generation ago cats and dogs were eaten as a winter

dish, but pets have boomed in popularity in the past 15 years.

 

Agencies

[Guest guest]

>and the halved torso of a mutilated kitten has been found in the street.

 

 

 

Hong Kong does not have coyotes, but this is a typical

description of the aftermath of a coyote killing a cat.

 

Coyotes usually attack from ambush, from behind, with a

scissor bite to the back that can cut a small cat or rabbit right in

two. If startled, for example by the headlights of a passing car,

the coyote will then often run off with just the back half of the

body, where most of the meat is, leaving the head and torso.

 

I have not witnessed jackal attacks, or their aftermath,

but jackals are the Asian cousins of coyotes, very similar in size

and habits, and if Hong Kong has jackals, a jackal might be the

perpetrator.

 

Domestic dogs usually do not attack in the coyote manner,

being more likely to grab and shake prey than to use the scissor

bite, but some dogs might strike like a coyote, so I would also

consider the possibility of a dog having done it.

 

 

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

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Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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