Anyone with half an ounce of common sense could have told the police this right from the start. The amount of officers' time that has been wasted on following up this case is shocking. Add to that the anxiety of all the false stories being spread about a cat serial killer kidnapping pets for ritual slaughter. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-45588088
Tony Church ● 2422d8 Comments
The Evening Standard reported yesterday that £130,000 was spent on investigating this case. Right from the start it was obvious there was nothing to it but top brass at the Met insisted it was followed up for PR reasons.
Carmel Cunningham ● 2332d
Yes — foxes are scavengers along with crows and other corvids. The line was that death occurred due to trauma eg from a traffic accident and then the cats were dismembered/eaten by foxes. I haven't seen a cat run over in years — but there were a lot around Croydon it seems — we'll see if these 'killings' continue.
Lynne McNulty ● 2388d
I think part of the problem is that the police have made a big effort to engage with people through social media. The problem is that makes them more vulnerable to pressure from special interest groups through sites like Facebook and Twitter. They have the ability to create the impression that there is widespread outrage about an issue when there really isn't and it is easy for the police to fall into the trap of trying to placate the noisiest.
Peter Higgins ● 2390d
Dr Henny Martineau, head of veterinary forensic pathology at the Royal Veterinary College seems to disagree with you as her post mortems on cats previously thought to have been victims of the cat killer showed predation by other animals. You are right that the police needed a reason to stop resources being wasted when they are already stretched and serious crimes need investigating such as the murder of the man in Battersea this week. If they made up evidence to put this nonsense to bed then fair enough but they do actually appear to have followed through and done a proper investigation and got to the truth.
Tony Church ● 2394d
Of course it's daft — foxes and cats co-exist because cats are well able to defend themselves. Cats may well be killed on the road — but then dismembered by foxes — no. Police needs a reason to stop wasting resources and time on this so came up with a convenient explanation.
Lynne McNulty ● 2394d
In what way is it daft? It's exactly what lots of people with experience in the field said right from the start.
David Parker ● 2400d
I agree that time was wasted but the explanation they've come up with is plain daft
Lynne McNulty ● 2401d
The police were bullied into devoting resources by a well organised social media campaign supported by people with no sense of proportion when it comes to animals. At one point 15 officers' time was being taken up. Meanwhile violent crime and robbery soars in Wandsworth.
David Parker ● 2421d