DOZENS of black cats are vanishing across Italy every day to be used in Satanic rituals, an animal welfare group has revealed.
In the last few weeks, black cats – strays as well as pets – have vanished from the streets of Milan, Rome, Florence and Venice.
The Italian Association for the Defence of Animals and the Environment (Aidaa) estimates 60,000 were killed last year,
to ward off bad luck, but also for use in satanic rites and in cosmetics laboratories where black fur gives the best results.
Lorenzo Croce, Aidaa's president, said: "It is a phenomenon that is taking place all over Italy and it is growing all the time. In the last few days 120 black cats have vanished in Milan.
"In Venice 63 have gone and in Florence 20 disappeared in a week and a similar number have gone missing in Rome. We have strong suspicions that these cats are being used in Satanic rituals.
"We want to halt this massacre, educate people and restore dignity to black cats."
The group has set up 200 information points in towns and cities around Italy, where passers-by will be given literature on black cats, asked to sign a petition and urged to adopt one of the 5,000 in cat refuges.
Aidaa has also sent a letter to Pope Benedict XVI, a well-known cat lover.
Mr Croce said: "It would be great if he would speak out in recognition of our initiative and say the prejudice against black cats is a lot of nonsense."
Black cats, although considered lucky in Britain, are thought of as quite the opposite in Italy where they are associated with witchcraft and Satanism.
Mr Croce said: "We are aware of several cases where the corpses of black cats have been found at sites used by Satanists, they are sacrificed as part of rituals they believe in."
He added that many Satanists believed that the bones of black cats held magical powers, and that disappearances of the animals were at their highest around Halloween.
The full article contains 351 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
