Stray cats and kittens poisoned with antifreeze. A sad story, the one that comes from the feline colony of Ponzano Veneto, a town of 13,000 inhabitants in the province of Treviso. Three cats were found dead, of as many names we have had more news for days, two others in desperate conditions. The small four-legged village, for at least fifteen years, was housed in an old uninhabited house in via Roma. Even the Municipality, through the councilor Franco Carlesso who lives near the colony, was dismayed by what happened. “With the neighborhood we have always done our utmost to feed them and also to sterilize them, in order to prevent an out-of-control proliferation”.
The cats without families of Ponzano were therefore not abandoned and did not even constitute, according to the inhabitants of the area, a health hazard. “There have never been traces of food or food residues scattered on the ground – they recall in via Roma – no one here has ever complained about their presence. We just can’t figure out what happened and by whom”.
Some suspect that the presence of the colony may in some way have annoyed, or in any case disturbed, some families who have recently settled in the district. One fact remains, unequivocal: the endless cruelty of those who have even thought of making a clean sweep of the poor strays of via Roma.
At the first discovery, two dead kittens in a private garden, a third followed soon after. A tragic and, at first, inexplicable succession. It was thought of a sudden epidemic. None of that. An analysis by the local Enpa was enough to clarify the mystery: the presence of antifreeze liquid, a deadly poison, was found in the organic remains of the felines. “Some of them were more independent, others were now at home but we had become attached to the whole colony – councilor Carlesso explained to local reporters – this grim gesture, therefore, is a slap in the face, not only to the strays’ right to life, but also to those who have loved and love these cats so much”.
The mayor of Ponzano Veneto, Antonello Baseggio, was among the first to raise the alarm of the massacre and to recover the two surviving cats, who were then transferred and treated in the West veterinary clinic. The rescue operation was conducted together with a resident of the area who had long taken the colony to heart. The woman, an employee of a local Conad supermarket, obtained permission from the mayor, for the ongoing emergency, and with him entered the private garden to recover dying animals.
