The beheading of a rabbit in Bromley earlier this month could be the latest murder by the so-called Croydon Cat Killer, according to an animal rescue charity.
The rabbit’s owner, Anne Patts, noticed Sid was missing from his cage when she returned home from the school run.
Eventually, the rabbit was found dead behind the back fence of Patt’s house. “His head was cut clean off,” she told News Shopper. The killer had also cut off one of Sid’s feet.
Animal charity South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL), which is investigating hundreds of violent UK cat and rabbit deaths in conjunction with the police, said the death was linked to the probe.
“The Croydon cat killer targets not only cats, but foxes and rabbits. We are sure the animal killings are human-related. We need to carry out further investigations,” a spokesperson for SNARL told ELL.
The charity says up to 400 cats and small animals have been slaughtered across the country and believe the same culprit could be responsible.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed earlier this month that a 31-year-old trucker, arrested after five cats were killed last August and November in Northampton, was not linked to the pet killings in Croydon.
The suspect was arrested because “his DNA was found on mutilated animals”. But Northamptonshire Police claimed that there was no evidence to prove he was the Croydon Cat Killer. He was released under investigation.
Cat victim Rusty. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
The latest decapitated cat victim Rusty was found on top of a car near its home in Duston, between 8pm on November 18 and 8am on November 19, police said.
The Met have been working with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). A £10,000 reward from animal welfare campaigners has also been offered to anyone who provides information that could lead to the arrest of the killer.
Our ELL+ news programme interviewed Caoimhe McAnena, Clinical Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Goldsmiths. She discussed the criminal psychology behind the killer’s actions.
For more information about the Croydon cat killer, please watch our ELL+ Newsday TV programme (10:36 to 13:53).
