Civil protection investigators found cats with flammable rags tied to their tails released into vegetation to start blazes, prompting criminal complaints and calls for a thorough investigation.
Animal welfare campaigners in Calabria have put up a €1,000 reward for information leading to the identification and conviction of arsonists accused of using cats to spread wildfires across the southern Italian region.
Calabria’s civil protection department revealed that among the devices used to start several forest fires, investigators had found cats with rags soaked in flammable liquid tied to their tails. The rags were set alight before the animals were released into tall grass, causing flames to spread across multiple points as the terrified cats ran through the vegetation. The animals are reported to have died in the process.
Delayed-action devices also found
Civil protection officials said they had additionally uncovered numerous delayed-action ignition devices used to start other fires across the region, pointing to a coordinated and deliberate pattern behind at least some of the summer’s blazes rather than accidental causes.
In response to the findings, the Associazione Italiana Difesa Animali ed Ambiente (AIDAA) said it would file criminal complaints with prosecutors’ offices across Calabria in the coming days. The association also announced the €1,000 reward, which it said would be paid to anyone whose formal report to police helped identify and secure the definitive conviction of the arsonist or arsonists responsible for using cats or other animals to start or fuel the fires.
Separately, animal rights group LNDC Animal Protection said it had also filed a complaint against persons unknown, expressing hope that those responsible are identified and prosecuted with the utmost rigour.
The revelations have caused alarm across Calabria, where wildfires have broken out repeatedly this summer, and have intensified calls for a thorough investigation into the origins of the blazes. Authorities say enquiries are ongoing, as officials work to determine both the extent of the arson campaign and who may be responsible for it.
