Reward of up to $5,000 Offered for Help in Cat-Killing Case

PETA Joins Sheriff’s Office in Seeking Public’s Help to Determine Who Apparently Shot and Poisoned Cats

For Immediate Release:
December 23, 2016

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

As many as 17 cats have been found shot or poisoned in Burke County this month. According to reports, some were shot with .22s, shotguns, or pellet guns; some appeared to have been tied up and used as targets; others seemed to have been lured with food; and some appeared to have been poisoned with antifreeze. Many of them were found dead, while others were rushed to emergency veterinary care to receive treatment for their injuries.

The Burke County Sheriff’s Office is investigating reports that a silver Dodge Ram truck apparently loaded with animal carriers was spotted near where the cats were found along Roger Hill Road in Connelly Springs, but authorities have yet to make any arrests in the case. That’s why PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction on cruelty charges of the person or persons responsible for these crimes.

“It’s horrifying to imagine the terror and agony that these cats surely felt when they were poisoned, strung up, shot, and left for dead,” says PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA is urging anyone with information about this case to come forward immediately—before whoever killed these cats harms anyone else.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—urges families to keep their animal companions safely indoors and never leave them unattended outdoors, where they may be stolen, attacked by other animals, or abused by cruel people.

Anyone with information about this case should contact the Burke County Sheriff’s Office at 828-438-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 828-437-3333.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.