PLEASE SHARE:
We are currently working alongside the police and the RSPCA to find the identity of the "M25 cat killer". We now have 28 cases confirmed by post mortem, with around 70 since Feb 2016 which bear the hallmarks of what is believed (through forensic evidence) to be the same killer.
Most of the attacks are occurring across a wide area in greater London, but we have also collected bodies from St Albans, from Northamptonshire, from Brighton, Manchester and Birmingham with identical wounds and are awaiting post mortem results to either rule these cases in or out of the investigation.
If you live in Greater London you are currently living in a high risk area for these killings. However, we also now want to know about any cats, foxes or birds found with the following combination of injuries from Manchester down to the South Coast:
Decapitations/ removal of tail/ removal of paws/ any combination of these.
Please note that a high number of birds found decapitated are caused by predation injury, but we have one case of an owl who was decapitated in East London with a bladed instrument so we would rather know about them all.
If you see anyone behaving oddly around cats, foxes or birds in the area from Manchester down to the South Coast, please call this into police via 101 with a full description of the person and what they are doing, and quote Operation Takahe in the call. Where possible get vehicle registration details. Please then send us the police or CAD reference number.
If you see anyone catching a cat, kidnapping a cat or fox or bird, hurting, kicking, standing on or otherwise causing harm to a cat or fox or bird in the same geographical area, that same advice applies except that's a 999 call.
If you find a body which bear the injuries listed or body parts (heads, legs, paws or tails) above from Manchester down to the South Coast, please call us on 07961 030064 or 07957 830490 immediately. Please stay with the body/parts if you can and prevent any council or waste services from touching or removing it and anyone from photographing it. Our phones are by nature busy so if you can't get through on one number, try the other.
We advise that anyone living in the greater London area keep their cats indoors as much as they can and let them out only during the day when they can be supervised. Please keep your cats in at night. We appreciate this isn't easy, particularly as the weather gets warmer but you will cut the risk to your cat dramatically if you keep them indoors during the hours of darkness.
If you have any information about who might be committing these offences, please call the team running Operation Takahe on 0208 6490216. If you feel uneasy speaking to the police, you can contact us instead on the mobile numbers listed above. All calls will be treated in the strictest of confidence.