Arsonists used stray cats as fire-starters during Italy’s wildfire emergency, police say
Arsonists are accused of using stray cats as live fire starters to ignite devastating wildfires sweeping southern Italy.
Researchers investigating fires in Calabria claim to have found evidence that felines were placed with rags soaked in flammable liquid and these were set on fire before the terrified animals were released into dry vegetation to spread the flames.
Candles and homemade delayed ignition devices were also reported to have been found near burned areas, strengthening suspicions that many of the fires were set deliberately.
The alleged tactic emerged as firefighters battled the inferno tearing through Pollino National Park, one of Italy’s largest protected areas, where nearly 1,000 hectares of vegetation were destroyed after days of intense firefighting.
Authorities said scorching temperatures, drought and strong winds caused the flames to spread rapidly across the rugged terrain.
Domenico Costarella, head of Calabria’s Civil Protection department, described the horrific method used by suspected arsonists.
‘These animals were released into the fields, they ran around and the fire spread,’ he said.
Mr Costarella said more than 160 fires had been recorded in Calabria in recent days, most of which were caused by what he called “malicious actors” rather than natural causes.
Arsonists are accused of using stray cats as live fire starters to ignite devastating wildfires sweeping southern Italy
Flames and thick smoke rise into the sky as fires ravage the forested hills of Castelluzzo, a hamlet of San Vito Lo Capo in the Italian province of Trapani
He warned that solving the problem would require a ‘change in mentality’… These are inhumane acts. ‘Unfortunately, men are their own worst enemies’.
Animal welfare advocates reacted angrily after the allegations emerged.
The Italian Association for the Defense of Animals and the Environment announced a reward of 1,000 Euros (£870) for information leading to the identification and conviction of those responsible, while campaigners also filed a complaint with prosecutors.
Disturbingly, researchers say this is not the first incident of alleged abuse of animals to spread wildfires in Italy.
Authorities have previously linked similar attacks to organized crime groups in Sicily, where cats were allegedly used to start a fire in Nebrodi Regional Park in 2016.
The following year, investigators said, the Camorra mafia used the same tactic to start fires in protected forestland beneath Mount Vesuvius, forcing evacuations and prompting the deployment of the Italian army.
Investigators have previously suggested that some deliberately lit fires were linked to criminal attempts to devalue land before buying it cheaply, but each case is investigated on its own evidence.
In Sicily, nearly 6,000 firefighters, forest rangers and civil protection workers are battling dozens of fires despite the use of water bombing planes.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi confirmed that a firefighter had died while battling the flames, while authorities warned that exceptionally high temperatures and tinder-dry ground continued to fuel the emergency.
Flames and thick smoke rise into the sky as fires ravage the forested hills of Castelluzzo
A firefighter escapes while trying to control a forest fire in New Peramos, near Athens
More than 11,500 hectares of land across Italy have already burned during the latest heatwave sweeping southern Europe.
The forest fire emergency has spread to neighboring countries.
More than 20,000 residents and holidaymakers were evacuated in southwestern France after fast-moving fires destroyed thousands of hectares of pine forest west of Bordeaux.
As the flames moved towards coastal communities, authorities called in planes from other European countries.
Lège-Cap-Ferret mayor Philippe de Gonneville said: ‘The weather is not in our favour.’
Spain is also struggling with several large fires; Thousands of residents were ordered to flee their homes west of Madrid, while another massive fire in the state of Guadalajara consumed more than 32,000 hectares.
According to the European Forest Fire Information System, around 250,000 hectares have burned across Europe this year; This is nearly double the long-term average, although it remains slightly below the same point last year.
