Suspected cat killer arrested in Sliema
The main suspect is a 31-year-old Japanese man
A man has been arrested in connection with a spate of shocking attacks on cats in Sliema and other localities.
In a statement, police said a 31-year-old Japanese man, described as the “main suspect” in the case, had been arrested following days of surveillance.
The man was apprehended on Sliema's Manuel Dimech Street at around 3am on Friday morning, with police finding a pair of latex gloves similar to those allegedly used in previous killings and packets of cat food on his person.
A subsequent search of the man’s residence yielded clothes matching those worn by a man captured by a number of security cameras in connection with the killings.
Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri thanked the police for their work apprehending the man in a Facebook post Friday morning.
The alarm was first raised last month by Debbie Calamatta, a member of the Facebook group ‘Malta Pet Adoption Group’, who reported that five stray cats had been found in Sliema dead or injured, and mutilated.
One cat was discovered with its tail cut off while another cat was found with part of its tongue missing.
Further similar attacks were recorded in Valletta, Floriana and Cospicua.
Speaking to Times of Malta, Calamatta said she was "over the moon" to hear of the man's arrest, adding her mother "can now rest again".
CCTV footage obtained by Times of Malta last month showed a man violently slamming a cat to the ground in Sliema in the early hours of the morning. The cat, affectionately known by neighbours as Pupa, was found dead on that spot the following morning.
Animal rights activists warned the attacks could be linked to an underground marketplace of videos showing the torture of animals, with an investigation by CNN uncovering advertisements to torture and kill cats on camera, shared by communities that celebrate extreme acts of violence against animals.
Videos of such animal abuse have been posted on X, YouTube and Facebook.
The man is being held at the Floriana police lock-up. Investigations are continuing.