Mass Cat Poisoning in Berkeley County Prompts New PETA Video: ‘Cats Don’t Go Missing by Themselves!’

For Immediate Release:
October 9, 2024

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

Shocking reports of people attacking cats have recently grabbed headlines across the U.S., prompting a new PETA video series that’s running on television stations nationwide—and now coming to Berkeley County. Following reports that 12 cats died after allegedly being poisoned on Drop Off Drive, the group’s new spot targets people who let their cats wander outdoors. The spot shows a woman who appears to innocuously fill a bowl with cat food—before she adds liquid from a bottle labeled “Poison.” After she takes the bowl outside, a message appears on-screen urging people to keep cats safe by keeping them indoors.

“The great outdoors is simply not great for cats, who can be perceived as a nuisance and harmed in heartbreaking and horrific ways,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA encourages all guardians to provide their cats with a happy and interesting indoor life safe from predators, speeding cars, and the many other dangers of the outdoor world.”

In addition to enduring violence and abuse at the hands of cruel and intolerant people, cats allowed to roam outdoors—as well as homeless ones fed regularly by people who somehow believe that the animals don’t need other care—are at risk of contracting parasites or potentially fatal diseases, being attacked by predators or run over by cars, and encountering other hazards. PETA notes that cats kept indoors need to be physically and mentally stimulated with a view of the outdoors, toys, climbing structures, scratching posts, cat TV, and other enrichment. The group offers a catio-building guide as well as a “cat guardian’s bible” written by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk that’s full of tips and available for purchase here.

PETA’s video series, which features It actor Jaeden Martell, depicts other examples of cat-killing cases and has run in Blaine, Minnesota, where alandlord allegedly poisoned cats who were being fed by a tenant on his property; El Paso, Texas, where a cat was stomped on and stabbed with a screwdriver; Los Angeles, where a man is accused of shooting multiple homeless cats with a crossbow; and Pequea Township, Pennsylvania, where a cat was shot in the head with a metal arrow. Many more cases are detailed on PETA’s website.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.