Hong Kong police investigate animal abandonment after 35 cats found in Sai Kung

Hong Kong police have launched an investigation into suspected animal abandonment after an animal welfare group revealed it found 35 discarded cats, including some expensive breeds, in Sai Kung.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals revealed in a Facebook post on Friday it had received anonymous calls urging its members to rescue the abandoned cats over the past three days, with the animals found in different locations each time.

“On September 27, police received a report from an organisation stating that there were a total of 35 cats suspected of being abandoned in the Sai Kung district between September 25 and 27,” the force said.

Police said it had handed the case to its animal crimes team in Wong Tai Sin district to investigate.

The society said its inspectors rescued 14 cats on September 24, an additional 13 on September 25 and a further eight on September 26.