UPDATE: The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office tells News 2 they are investigating this case. Anyone with information can call 843-723-3800.
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SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – An investigation is underway in Summerville after more than a dozen animals were found dead on a recently sold property along Drop Off Drive.
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Pet Helpers said 12 cats and three possums, part of a monitored cat colony, were discovered scattered throughout the wooded area where they lived.
Lowcountry TNR and Feral Cat Network have been monitoring and caring for the animals. According to Pet Helpers, the groups are “committed to trap-neuter-return efforts” for feral cats in the community.
Stephanie Fauvelle, president and co-founder of the Charleston Animal Legislative Action League, said in an email to News 2 that the cats were found poisoned on the recently sold property. She said the previous owner agreed to sell the land with the “explicit condition that the colony of cats […] would be cared for.” She added that the previous owner was devastated upon learning about the deaths.
According to Pet Helpers, police are actively investigating the incident. The animal shelter is now offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of those responsible.
Members of the TNR group are monitoring the area to collect any surviving animals to protect them from further harm. So far, seven additional felines have been found and trapped.
Melissa Susko, executive director of Pet Helpers, called the incident a “heartbreaking and horrifying situation.”
“The cruelty inflicted on these innocent animals is beyond comprehension,” said Susko. “These cats were being cared for, loved, and looked after by volunteers who had committed their time to helping them. We are committed to seeking justice for these animals and will do everything in our power to ensure those responsible are held accountable. Our thoughts are with the caregivers of this colony, and we hope no more animals are harmed. We urge anyone with information to come forward to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office at 843-723-3800.
Moral panics emerge when people perceive an existential threat to themselves, society or the environment. When in the grip of a moral panic, the ability to think clearly and act responsibly is compromised. While the moral panic over cats arises from valid concerns over threats to native species, it obscures the real driver: humanity’s exploitative treatment of the natural world. Crucially, errors of scientific reasoning also underwrite this false crisis.
THE (SHAKY) CASE AGAINST CATS — Conservationists and the media often claim that cats are a main contributor to a mass extinction, a catastrophic loss of species due to human activities, like habitat degradation and the killing of wildlife.
As an interdisciplinary team of scientists and ethicists studying animals in conservation, we examined this claim and found it wanting. It is true that like any other predator, cats can suppress the populations of their prey. Yet the extent of this effect is ecologically complex.
FAULTY SCIENTIFIC REASONING — In our most recent publication in the journal Conservation Biology, we examine an error of reasoning that props up the moral panic over cats.
Scientists do not simply collect data and analyze the results. They also establish a logical argument to explain what they observe. Thus, the reasoning behind a factual claim is equally important to the observations used to make that claim. And it is this reasoning about cats where claims about their threat to global biodiversity founder. In our analysis, we found it happens because many scientists take specific, local studies and overgeneralize those findings to the world at large.
Even when specific studies are good overall, projecting the combined “results” onto the world at large can cause unscientific overgeneralizations, particularly when ecological context is ignored. It is akin to pulling a quote out of context and then assuming you understand its meaning.
WHAT’S NEXT — So how might citizens and scientists chart a way forward to a more nuanced understanding of cat ecology and conservation?
First, those examining this issue on all sides can acknowledge that both the well-being of cats and the survival of threatened species are legitimate concerns.
Second, cats, like any other predator, affect their ecological communities. Whether that impact is good or bad is a complex value judgment, not a scientific fact.
Third, there is a need for a more rigorous approach to the study of cats. Such an approach must be mindful of the importance of ecological context and avoid the pitfalls of faulty reasoning. It also means resisting the siren call of a silver (lethal) bullet.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Yet there are many options to consider. Protecting apex predators and their habitat is fundamental to enabling threatened species to coexist with cats. In some cases, people may choose to segregate domestic cats from vulnerable wildlife: for instance, with catios where cats can enjoy the outdoors while being kept apart from wildlife. In other cases, unhomed cats may be managed with trap-neuter-return programs and sanctuaries.
Finally, contrary to the framing of some scientists and journalists, the dispute over cats is not primarily about the science. Rather, it evokes an ongoing debate over the ethics that ought to guide humanity’s relationship with other animals and nature.
This is the root of the moral panic over cats: the struggle to move beyond treating other beings with domination and control, toward fostering a relationship rooted in compassion and justice.
Joann Lindenmayer, DVM, MPH is an associate professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University and contributed to this article.
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