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On a number of occasions, I have come across decapitated wood pigeons in the wood where I walk the dogs.

It could only really be a fox doing that. Why decapitated and then left I don't know, but they are.
 
Why decapitated and then left I don't know, but they are.
Heads are hard to eat. Well fed predators won't bother with difficult parts if they don't have to, so they'll eat the soft stuff - usually starting with the belly, and leave the yuckier and harder to eat parts.

Do you have raccoons in the UK? I didn't think so, but figured I would ask.
 
Do you have raccoons in the UK? I didn't think so, but figured I would ask.
Only in the 1996 rendition of '101 Dalmatians' (the one with Glenn Close in it).
 
Only in the 1996 rendition of '101 Dalmatians' (the one with Glenn Close in it).
:Hilarious:Hilarious:Hilarious

Raccoons will kill cats too, opportunistically mostly. They'll scavenge dead ones though for sure. And possums, and all sorts of other critters that you wouldn't necessarily think of as a danger to cats.
 
I agree there is much conflicting expert opinion; one could make a very convicing argument either way from the media reporting and other sources of information. I have followed this closely for several years and just cannot feel convinced that the majority of these poor cats were killed by a person with malicious intent. There is also something about the couple who launched SNARL that unsettles me slightly in relation to their credibility.
I agree some were probably "innocent" killings - but all? What is it about the SNARL couple that unsettles you? Don't know much about them.
 
:Hilarious:Hilarious:Hilarious

Raccoons will kill cats too, opportunistically mostly. They'll scavenge dead ones though for sure. And possums, and all sorts of other critters that you wouldn't necessarily think of as a danger to cats.
We don't have any of them. Foxes are our only wildlife which could pose any possible threat.
 
Oh and weasels (not as common) are adept little hunters too, and will happily kill a cat - again, very opportunistic and will do a sneak attack, not an out and out fight. Another animal that will happily eat cat roadkill.
I have no idea if there are weasels in this area, or related animals.

At the end of the day, it's all argument from ignorance isn't it?
Saying "I don't know of any animal that leaves wounds like that therefore it must be a human" is a logically flawed conclusion. Anything that starts with "I don't know" means exactly that - you don't know.
Just because in the UK no one knows of a predator that decapitates their prey, doesn't mean that there aren't predators who do so, in fact there are many.

Hell, for all we know there is a chupacabra on the loose. I don't mean to be flippant, but I do mean to illustrate that there are many possible scenarios, some more plausible than others of course.
 
Very true.

As for the decapitated pigeons, it's only the head that is gone and the body left behind, so whatever kills them isn't eating them. Very weird. Maybe another pigeon in a scrap for territory or a bird of prey, such as a sparrowhawk? I don't know.

I hadn't thought about weasels or stoats, but they would have to catch the pigeon on the ground.

Odd, but I've seen a number of them.
 
I've had headless birds (pigeons and the odd magpie) squirrels and rats in my garden. I've always assumed it was foxes. The bodies usually disappear within a day or two; again I've always assumed the fox has come back for them.
 
Oh and weasels (not as common) are adept little hunters too, and will happily kill a cat - again, very opportunistic and will do a sneak attack, not an out and out fight. Another animal that will happily eat cat roadkill.
I have no idea if there are weasels in this area, or related animals.

At the end of the day, it's all argument from ignorance isn't it?
Saying "I don't know of any animal that leaves wounds like that therefore it must be a human" is a logically flawed conclusion. Anything that starts with "I don't know" means exactly that - you don't know.
Just because in the UK no one knows of a predator that decapitates their prey, doesn't mean that there aren't predators who do so, in fact there are many.

Hell, for all we know there is a chupacabra on the loose. I don't mean to be flippant, but I do mean to illustrate that there are many possible scenarios, some more plausible than others of course.
Do your predators lay animals out in a display pose, after removing the head and tail? Do they use a single, sharp claw to cut open their victim?

Perhaps there is a pack of predators who travel up and down the UK at lightening speed, to kill two animals at opposite ends of the country, in the same manner on both occasions. Or perhaps it's a predator mafia type job.

Reducing it to predation is a disservice to the animals killed and their families. Animals don't remove the head and tail and leave the soft meat inside the body. Animals don't have knowledge of CCTV and they can't be in two cities that are a 6 hour drive apart on consecutive days.

The areas are mostly suburban housing where CCTV is scarce and difficult to trace. The attacks happen overnight and victims are found placed and displayed in gardens. Under windows and outside schools are regular occurrences.

A few of these instances could be animal killings, sure, but approx 400 identical deaths across the UK, of foxes and rabbits as well as cats? That is not down to predation .
 
We’re a rural town, as is the one I work in, headless animals are fairly common, especially rabbits and hares. Our estates team have to do a daily sweep for dead rabbits etc to make sure they’re removed before the kids arrive.

We’ve had a few dead cats, work is on a very fast and busy road, our fox is well known for bringing them on the grounds and playing with them.

We once had decapitated rabbits on our doorstep a few times thanks to our lovely Aisha. Wild ones, not pets. Although next doors rabbit was taken by a big ginger boy and his head was left a few metres away in someones garden. Poor Scooby, his silly owner had left him in a garden with nowhere to hide, knowing that this cat was regularly on the prowl.
 
I agree some were probably "innocent" killings - but all? What is it about the SNARL couple that unsettles you? Don't know much about them.
'Unsettle' probably the gives the wrong connotation. I was struggling to find a word that conveys what I think, without wanting to discredit their undoubted compassion.

I have read most of the public comment they have made and a lot of it lacks credibility. Boudicca Rising (this is a pseudonym for fear of reprisal, she says) I'm afraid sounds like a pseudo expert on everything from the history and psychology of serial killers to veterinary forensics and some of their theories are frankly ludicrous. I don't doubt their passion and commitment, but I think in such circumstances it is easy to become consumed by it and those deeply involved often cannot be sufficiently dispassionate. At one stage, they were convinced a taxi driver was responsible, when cases apparently spread from south to north London. I find the armchair detective work puerile.

I have no doubt they are well intentioned and I admire their dedication and I'm aware that my criticism of them won't be well received.
I agree some were probably "innocent" killings - but all? What is it about the SNARL couple that unsettles you? Don't know much about them.
 
On a number of occasions, I have come across decapitated wood pigeons in the wood where I walk the dogs.

It could only really be a fox doing that. Why decapitated and then left I don't know, but they are.
Some predators will eat the brain first as it's the most nutritious part & the quickest way to immobilise their prey, I've seen a sparrow hawk do just this is my garden, they may have got disturbed which is why the body is left but they will come back & eat the rest. Birds of prey will take out a wood pigeon so it could be their handiwork.
 
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I expect some of the killings are/were predation. When living under fear of such attacks on pet cats, people will attribute all sorts of things to what's in the news.
 
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I can accept that some of these killings were due to foxes, but why so many in one area? If it were foxes, surely there would be a pattern elsewhere in the country where there was a similar population of foxes?
I'm very sceptical of their conclusion.
 
Is so many though for a densely populated, busy urban area over a four year period? 500, if factually near accurate, is a shocking figure but to my knowledge nobody has previously kept accurate records, bearing in mind all losses would need to be reported/recorded and in reality that doesn't happen.

Putting aside for a moment the question of malice, when you break that figure down it seems to me to be quite believeable. We live in a small village of approx 1,300 residents with a single lane each way 40mph A road running through it and of course we have foxes. I saw from our village Facebook page last week that four cats (different owners) had been lost on the road in the space of the last 11 days. By comparison, 500 cats in a large urban area seems quite believable.
 
I can accept that some of these killings were due to foxes, but why so many in one area? If it were foxes, surely there would be a pattern elsewhere in the country where there was a similar population of foxes?
I'm very sceptical of their conclusion.
Don't forget that there have also been numerous killings up around Liverpool and other northern areas too, all done in the same way.

Is so many though for a densely populated, busy urban area over a four year period? 500, if factually near accurate, is a shocking figure but to my knowledge nobody has previously kept accurate records, bearing in mind all losses would need to be reported/recorded and in reality that doesn't happen.

Putting aside for a moment the question of malice, when you break that figure down it seems to me to be quite believeable. We live in a small village of approx 1,300 residents with a single lane each way 40mph A road running through it and of course we have foxes. I saw from our village Facebook page last week that four cats (different owners) had been lost on the road in the space of the last 11 days. By comparison, 500 cats in a large urban area seems quite believable.
500 animals, not just cats. It would be a normal number, were it not 500 spread across the UK and all of these deaths were in the same manner. I believe someone has already mentioned that circa 1600 cases have also been investigated and were concluded to be predation.
 
The p##### have swept over several hundred deliberate killings of cats (probably over a thousand) in one town by a criminal bunch that literally get away with murder and have been for decades. These muderers are known and there have been many, many witnessses. This evil bunch threaten to burn down the homes of the ###### dealing with the cases and also witnesses homes and do even worse things than that that I know of and not just to cats and animals. IMO if I am allowed to have one, is that they know who is/are responsible for the majority of the crimes we are talking about on this thread, but are too fearful individually to prosecute and collectively not getting the support they need to prosecute.
 
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