Mystery of cat snatchers and abusers alarms French villagers

NEWS AND COMMENT: In Hérault Valley, in the sunny far south of France, an evil presence has taken hold as more than 140 cats have been abducted and sometimes tortured. Cat owners in this area of southern France are urging the police to investigate.

Saïda Ounnas and Émeline Legrand have put together a dossier of cats that have gone missing in the area. The Times reports that all the missing animals were micro-chipped or had to 2 identifications. They been reported missing during 2022 in this particular area which is near Montpelier.

Sometimes cats have reappeared but they have done so showing signs of mistreatment and have had to be euthanised. One of the cats had been shot at and had a 9 mm bullet in their leg. Another cat had their tail partially ripped off.

Residents in the area around Gignac (see location below) and Pézenas were aware at the beginning of the year that many cat companions were going missing and began to investigate.

That is all the news and I have on this emerging story. It is only The Times newspaper which has reported on this. This surprises me as this is a major investigation in terms of animal welfare. If it is true that 140 cats have gone missing, this is mass mistreatment and cat killing. This surely needs to be investigated and the investigation prioritised.

It is hard to imagine that this large number of cats can go missing and the ones that are returned have done so with injuries without some other evidence being revealed.

I don’t know any more because as mentioned there are no more reports available to me but you would have thought that the police would have managed to have unearthed some evidence as the alleged criminal behaviour affects so many cats.

I will update the page as the story emerges. It must develop, surely? If in the meantime anyone can find some more information please comment.

Below are some more pages on crime.