Animal welfare activists fear housing estates are being scoured as gangs look for cats, especially kittens
Family pet cats are being stolen and sold on the internet across the border, it was revealed yesterday.
Animal welfare activists fear gangs are scouring housing estates looking for cats, especially kittens.
One animal welfare activist in Dundalk, Co Louth, said the gang appeared to be more interested in female cats which could indicate they are breeding them in the feline equivalent of puppy farms.
She said: “You could describe this as a form of cruelty and it’s very much in evidence in a number of border towns.
“Female cats are being collected and housed to produce kittens, these can then be sold for around €30 to €50 each, mainly to people from Northern Ireland. The kittens are advertised on the internet and mainly bought by families who may be anxious to rear a house kitten as a kid’s pet.”
he believed some of those involved in this “racket” may be foreign nationals. And it has also been reported a number of cats have gone missing in Drogheda, Co Louth.
Yesterday a trawl of the internet showed hundreds of kittens on popular Irish buy and sell websites from €30 to €50. And one seller, who was offering ones of “special breeding”, was looking €500.
The trade in pets is big business and last month BBC’s Panorama exposed the puppy farm scandal and how Northern Ireland is used as the gateway for Irish traders to bring puppies into the UK without proper checks.
