UK - Reward for identity of the Croydon Cat Ripper. Jan 2016.

[MelmothTheLost]

Police suggest Croydon Cat Killer may not actually be killing cats at all

Who would have access to lots of dead cats?

Someone who does a lot of driving at night.

A vet nurse or RSPCA worker.

Someone who has a large breed of aggressive dog who walks it at night, especially someone involved in dog fighting who encourages the dogs they are training to practise on anything else with 4 legs.

The reality is that with the density of traffic in and around British cities there's always a lot of roadkill that somebody else could come along later and use for their own purposes. I live on the outskirts of a town of 100,000. In late spring and early summer the roads here are litted with dead young badgers that never developed road sense.

 

[badgersmythe]

Police suggest Croydon Cat Killer may not actually be killing cats at all

Who would have access to lots of dead cats?

Very interesting that the police say they are working alongside the RSPCA and do not mention SNARL.

The fundraising requests from SNARL make me feel uncomfortable.

I really hope that all these families who were told their pet had suffered a horrific death were not given incorrect information. I think I would feel comfort knowing my pet was already dead if it had been mutilated.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Very interesting that the police say they are working alongside the RSPCA and do not mention SNARL.

The fundraising requests from SNARL make me feel uncomfortable.

SNARL is not a registered charity or an incorporated entity so whatever their activities are they're completely unregulated. There's nothing to require them to prepare or file accounts so they are unaccountable in respect of any donations received which could simply be going into a back pocket to buy drinks on Friday nights.

 

[Curious.1]

They are pretty upfront about it tho, at least on Facebook, acknowledging that it is paying for Tony while he isn't employed. South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty - SNARL "South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty - SNARL "Tony is unable to work whilst the investigation is going on. We have to try and meet his basic costs somehow, he can't live on air. We've always been open about this and if people are uncomfortable with that then they can simply not donate. If he worked for a charity, he would be paid a wage, which would cover these costs."

In the past, people donated specifically for home renovations to help them out. The new website is a bit dodgy tho, being polite here, in that you can't see how much money has already been donated, only what percentage has been given. Could be a massive number and who would know. I wonder how donations are taxed, if at all?? And the website also says that all money goes to the animals, which doesn't tie in with what they said on Facebook: "We will not use your donations for admin. it will be use for the care of the animals." Captcha

 

[Curious.1]

I really hope that all these families who were told their pet had suffered a horrific death were not given incorrect information. I think I would feel comfort knowing my pet was already dead if it had been mutilated.

Me too! Especially awful for the kids of the pets who are probably still scared of the serial cat killer man who apparently went into their gardens or to their streets. I wonder if any families have actually moved out of their area because of this. My kids heard snippets of info on the news and it really scared them. Not to mention how scary it was for logical adults when it was repeated, often, that he would soon move on to humans! I was so relieved to read that well-reasoned article about fox mutilations of dead cats, even tho it is still awful for the owners. Better that than a serial killer.

 

[noodler2]

Copycats abound.

Canton Police release photo of tortured cat in hopes of finding owner

 

[MelmothTheLost]

If he worked for a charity, he would be paid a wage, which would cover these costs."

Not necessarily. I know someone who runs an animal sanctuary which is a registered charity. It's a full time thing for her but she is paid nothing by the charity for what can be 15 hour days in summer. Her income currently comes entirely from a pet boarding business.

In the past, people donated specifically for home renovations to help them out. The new website is a bit dodgy tho, being polite here, in that you can't see how much money has already been donated, only what percentage has been given. Could be a massive number and who would know. I wonder how donations are taxed, if at all?? And the website also says that all money goes to the animals, which doesn't tie in with what they said on Facebook: "We will not use your donations for admin. it will be use for the care of the animals." Captcha

This is the problem with an organisation operating as if it were a charity when it isn't. There are no accounts so you simply don't know what the income is or what it has been used for.

I don't know much about charity accounting. I don't know if they are expected to pay tax, NICs or VAT on various forms of income and expenditure, though I know that a registered charity can claim gift aid of 25% from the government on donations by UK taxpayers. In effect, the government refunds to the charity the tax deemed to have been paid by a UK taxpayer.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

SNARL are not giving up:

Nine suspects identified in hunt for Croydon cat killer: Builders and journalists among those in the frame for mutilating 400 pets

Police hunting for the Croydon cat killer have been handed a list of nine suspects by animal campaigners acting as amateur sleuths.

Members of South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL) used police-style profiling to narrow down the number of potential culprits.

Nine suspects identified in hunt for Croydon cat killer including journalists and builders | Daily Mail Online

 

[Spyder84]

What I have found interesting is that many of these incidents take place in or around national parks, I'm wondering if this person could be in some sort gardening work or maybe participating in a hobby such as bird watching or fishing.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

What I have found interesting is that many of these incidents take place in or around national parks,

They don't. Croydon and Greater London are nowhere near a national park. Nor is Northampton. Nor the West Midlands.

Manchester is, admittedly, close to the Peak District but is not within it.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Police hunt sick cat killer after NINE pets were poisoned with Antifreeze in the same town in just two weeks

Police are investigating after NINE cats in one town have died after being poisoned with Antifreeze in just two weeks.

Devastated pet owners say their cats were left 'screaming in pain' after losing their ability to walk and violently vomiting up poisoned tuna.

Four cats in Kingswood, near Bristol, have passed away from ingesting the toxic substance in the past week.

Police hunt cat killer after NINE pets poisoned with Antifreeze in the same town in just two weeks | Daily Mail Online

This is the latest in a series of verified cases of cat poisonings in the UK. Where culprits have been identified and convicted, they tend to be neighbours who are pissed off with other neighbours' cats crapping in their gardens. The crapping in gardens issue is not just about the disgusting mess left by the crap, but since cat faeces carry various parasites and other bioorganisms they can pose a threat to any children that play in that space.

While I wouldn't condone poisoning cats in such cases, this is an area where British law does not provide a remedy to the persons affected since cats are legally deemed to be free agents and their owners are not required to restrain or confine them, nor are they liable for any damage or harm done by their cats. So in essence if your child playing in your own garden contracts toxoplasmosis from crap left by a neighbour's cat, there is sod all you can do about it legally.

Toxoplasmosis - Wikipedia

 

[Legally Bland]

Scotland Yard said its three-year investigation, during which dozens of dead animals were examined, has concluded humans are unlikely to have been responsible for killings.

Instead, a fox or foxes are believed to be behind the mutilations in south London.

Police said forensic tests and postmortem examinations were carried out on several carcasses and pointed to foxes’ involvement.

Croydon cat killer unmasked as fox after three-year investigation

 

[badgersmythe]

It’s very interesting that the police have come out and said this after their investigation. I’m guessing their forensic experts are more qualified than the ones that SNARL are using?

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Scotland Yard said its three-year investigation, during which dozens of dead animals were examined, has concluded humans are unlikely to have been responsible for killings.

Instead, a fox or foxes are believed to be behind the mutilations in south London.

Police said forensic tests and postmortem examinations were carried out on several carcasses and pointed to foxes’ involvement.

Croydon cat killer unmasked as fox after three-year investigation

Quelle surprise. Not.

Three years worth of police time and resources down the drain on a completely pointless investigation. For anyone who knows anything about fox attacks on smaller animals, and has seen the results of this, it was pretty bloody obvious that foxes were heavily implicated in these events, at least in terms of the "mutilations" involved. The police have effectively but tacitly said that any seemingly ritualistic placing of animals body parts was purely coincidental and therefore of no significance.

I would like to think that officers from the Met had actually been reading this thread and that maybe what was posted here had some effect on causing them to reassess the whole case.

Needless to say, SNARL now looks bloody stupid but somehow I doubt they will accept the Met's new assessment of the matter.

 

[badgersmythe]

Quelle surprise. Not.

Three years worth of police time and resources down the drain on a completely pointless investigation. For anyone who knows anything about fox attacks on smaller animals, and has seen the results of this, it was pretty bloody obvious that foxes were heavily implicated in these events, at least in terms of the "mutilations" involved. The police have effectively but tacitly said that any seemingly ritualistic placing of animals body parts was purely coincidental and therefore of no significance.

I would like to think that officers from the Met had actually been reading this thread and that maybe what was posted here had some effect on causing them to reassess the whole case.

Needless to say, SNARL now looks bloody stupid but somehow I doubt they will accept the Met's new assessment of the matter.

Great post! You’ve put into words exactly what I was thinking. I see SNARL have posted a response on their page. It will be interesting to see how their loyal followers react to this latest news.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Great post! You’ve put into words exactly what I was thinking. I see SNARL have posted a response on their page. It will be interesting to see how their loyal followers react to this latest news.

By downright denial of course. It's an article of faith for them that these dead cats must be the result of human activity so they will fight tooth and nail to bury any cognitive dissonance.

The reality is that there is a long standing expectation in some circles that as urban foxes become increasingly habituated to humans they will gradually become more of a physical threat. 15 years ago in Hillingdon I was confronted by an extremely bold fox in broad daylight in the midst of a small development of sheltered bungalows for elderly people. A neighbour of my partner's late father, then living in the bungalows, said several old people had been stalked and harrassed, though not yet bitten or attacked, by foxes that tried to get at their shopping. Since then there have been very well substantiated cases of foxes attacking both adults in their homes and babies in their prams, not to mention the fox found in 2011 living on the 72nd (!) floor of the Shard, then under construction.

The situation is not helped by ignorant urban and suburban people who know bugger all about foxes deliberately putting out food for them and thereby encouraging them to come into theirs and other people's gardens looking for food. Sometimes that food turns out to be next door's cat or a kid's pet rabbit in an insecure hutch.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

A thread has sprung up about the Met's statement on the boards at Mumsnet (language warning).

SNARL |

There's a very left wing element on Mumsnet which seems to be decidedly hard of thinking. Note that there appears to be almost a lone rational and measured voice which is attacked by a mob of harpies screaming obscenities.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

A thread has sprung up about the Met's statement on the boards at Mumsnet (language warning).

SNARL |

There's a very left wing element on Mumsnet which seems to be decidedly hard of thinking. Note that there appears to be almost a lone rational and measured voice which is attacked by a mob of harpies screaming obscenities.

Well that didn't last long. The thread has been removed because of complaints to the mods by the majority on the thread. There was nothing wrong with the post that started it. The poster simply stated the facts of the police statement and subsequently defended the right of the police to change their minds if the evidence warranted it. However she was attacked by a lynch mob of verbally violent thugs and bullies.

Which is pretty typical of Mumsnet.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Howls of outrage from catowners in the Wail:

'A massive fail!' Owners who say their pets WERE slaughtered by the Croydon Cat Killer react in fury to police claim that cars and foxes were to blame for deaths of 500 animals

A police investigation into hundreds of reported cat mutilations has been branded 'a massive fail' after officers today said the deaths were not the work of a human killer.

Furious owners have hit out at the Metropolitan Police, who said the disfigurements were likely carried out by foxes after the cats were killed by cars.

But some still believe a killer is still at large. Samantha Glass and her daughter, Tabitha Brown, were devastated to find their cat, Harley, dead the family home.

Ms Glass has called the decision to close the investigation 'unbelievable'.

Police close Croydon cat killer case and say foxes are to blame | Daily Mail Online

So basically only one conclusion is acceptable to these people. They're not interested in any outcome other than the one they want to believe. Once they've decided what they want to believe, nothing is going to change their minds.

God help any poor sod that gets any of these people on their jury.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

It’s very interesting that the police have come out and said this after their investigation. I’m guessing their forensic experts are more qualified than the ones that SNARL are using?

I would imagine that SNARL's vet will be an ordinary vet in practice rather than a specialist forensic vet such as the police could call on. Vets are like doctors in that they receive a core education but that any specialisms they develop is likely to come from elective courses and later research. The core in the UK is cats, dogs and common farmstock. Although rabbits are the 3rd most popular pet in the UK most veterinary courses do not include rabbit medicine as standard, which is why so many vets have such poor knowledge of it.