Police question underage suspects in cat killing case

A mother cat and her three kittens were being cared for at the school. One of the kittens was found to have been spraypainted, tortured, subsequently killed, and hanged. Reports also claimed that blood had been smeared on the walls.

South Cyprus Police spokesman Christos Andreou confirmed on Friday that: “Yes, we have found them, but as you are aware they are underage persons and we must be very sensitive and careful in what we say, therefore I can confirm that suspects have been identified and questioned.”

The case caused outrage on social media which was awash with accusations of who the suspects may be, with some posts even naming the alleged perpetrators.  Speaking to Alpha, Andreou said that the investigations are ongoing.

Elsewhere, head of the animal police unit Vyronas Vyronos told the Cyprus Mail that the case of a cat being used as target practice in Limassol has not been officially reported to the authorities.

“We are indeed aware of posts on social media saying that a cat was used as target practice with a Flobert gun, but we have not received an official report,” he said, adding that they have so far not spoken with the man who uploaded photos showing a badly injured cat.

Asked about the apparent rise of animal cruelty cases emerging, Vyronos offered that they were always happening but now the public is more sensitive to such issues and is rightly reporting them.

“Now that we have an animal police unit the public is assured that such cases will be investigated,” he said, adding that in the past such incidents were not taken as seriously.

He called on the public to report incidents of animal mistreatment by calling the local police station or citizen help line, explaining that either a local officer will investigate or the case may be passed on to the animal police unit.

In September 2021, the Cyprus Mail reported that the animal police unit was staffed with 16 officers.