PETALING JAYA: Is there a deranged cat killer targeting felines at the Universiti Malaya (UM) campus?
Animal rights activists believe so after two mysterious deaths involving cats at the compound of UM last week and the gruesome manner in which they were killed.
The cats were found dead with their limbs dismembered.
Police have said that the cats were attacked by wild dogs but the activists are not biting.
Instead, lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan of Lawyers for Animal Rights said yesterday he strongly believes there is a “psychopath” lurking at the UM campus and viciously killing the cats.
He said a private veterinarian who examined one of the dead cats had stated in a medical report that the limbs were severed in a manner which indicated it was done with a sharp weapon.
“How then could the police conclude the cats were killed by wild dogs? Was a post-mortem conducted on the corpses by DVS (Veterinary Services Department)?
“The manner in which the cats were dismembered shows it was not an attack by dogs.
A clean cut: Rajesh showing an X-ray of one of the mauled cats as Dr Kartini Farah looks on during the press conference in Petaling Jaya. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
“We have X-rays and the medical report and we urge police to investigate the case again and prove us wrong.
“If this is the work of a psychopath, we are concerned about the safety of students and staff of UM apart from that of stray animals,” he told a press conference at his law firm here.
Rajesh also took to task the Animal Welfare Board for allegedly failing to carry out its responsibilities of safeguarding the animals.
Dermatologist Dr Kartini Farah Rahim, who was at the press conference, pointed out that the wounds inflicted on the dead cats were not what one would expect from a dog attack.
“When dogs attack, they normally go for the neck or abdomen.
“However, in this case, the dismembering of the limbs of cats at their joints were clean cuts and there were no signs of puncture or tear wounds,” said Dr Kartini Farah, also an animal rights activist.
Another activist, Shima Aris, said she learnt that there had been an undisclosed number of cat-killing cases at the campus in the past months, and the remains of the animals were buried in the compound.
In the latest case, she said several undergraduates had reached out to her before handing her the carcass of a cat on Friday.
Shima said she sought the help of a private veterinarian to determine the cause of its death.
She added that although the cat, fondly known as Lily, was a stray, it was fed and cared for by UM students and staff.
“Lily was loved by all at the campus and they are saddened by what happened.
“We urge police, DVS and UM to take this seriously and catch the culprit,” she said.
Shima said that about two dozen cats had been rescued from the campus and sent to shelters and estimated that there are 50 stray cats and about 10 dogs at the UM campus.
Many of them are believed to have been abandoned at a nearby jungle by their owners.
On Sunday, Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said investigators had concluded that stray dogs were behind the death of the cats, based on a close-circuit camera footage.
