Police complaint filed after Yeosu cats found with cable ties around necks

An animal welfare group has filed a criminal complaint with the police after stray cats with cable ties tightened around their necks were found in Yeosu, Jeonnam-Gwangju.

Residents began reporting about three weeks ago that cats with cable ties around their necks were roaming near the state quarantine station in Yeosu, according to the National Coalition of Stray Cat Protection Groups (translated). The group began a rescue effort on Saturday and has rescued two cats so far, it said Monday.

One of the cats had three cable ties and a brown cord tightened around its neck and had suffered deep wounds. It was handed over to Yeosu’s city-run animal shelter. The other cat had no serious injuries and was released at the scene after treatment.

The coalition is still searching for a third cat. That cat has a white cable tie around its neck and has been vomiting, and the group fears it could die.

The coalition believes someone is repeatedly abusing stray cats in the area and filed a complaint with the Yeosu Police Station on Sunday.

“Choking a creature that cannot speak so that it dies in pain is a serious crime that can never be brushed off as a prank or simple mischief,” Hwang Mi-suk, chair of the coalition, said.

BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]