PETITION TARGET: Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities and Transport
UPDATE (10/16/2023): A total of 97 cats have been found so far, with many available for adoption, according to news. To learn more about the cats or submit an application for an adoption, visit the Ruffpawz website.
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Dozens of defenseless cats were dumped in a scorching desert to die of starvation, dehydration, or exposure to the elements in the United Arab Emirates, according to news.
Rescuers alerted to the atrocity have reportedly recovered at least 50 dead felines — in various states of decomposition — and 80 other cats in critical condition. Horrifically, rescuers believe there may still be many more cats wandering helplessly through the desert whom they haven’t yet been able to find.
All but two of the animals had been microchipped and neutered, reportedly as part of an existing Trap Neuter Return (TNR) program. The surviving cats reportedly were so weak that they didn’t have the strength to walk into carriers and collapsed in front of rescuers — some of whom told news that they will be forever traumatized by the conditions they found.
“The smell will haunt me forever,” one person told Al Arabiya news. “It is unimaginable the suffering they must have gone through.”
The Department of Municipalities and Transport has since launched an investigation into what they’re calling the “inhumane act.”
No cat deserves to be brutally abandoned in a desert, where they are likely to endure a prolonged and painful death. It’s critical that this gruesome act of abandonment be taken seriously.
Sign our petition urging authorities to thoroughly and expeditiously investigate this atrocity and hold those responsible fully accountable.
