Hundreds of cats have been brutally mutilated across the country since September 2015, a community network has claimed.
Cats, kittens, foxes, guinea pigs, rabbits, and squirrels have all been killed numerous times over the past eight years - each with incredibly detailed and similar characteristics - according to the South London Animal Investigation Network (SLAIN).
Vets confirmed that each of the killings were caused by humans, either by in-person assessments or by analysing detailed photographs, the charity said.
Mutilations were recorded across the entirety of England; as far south as Truro in Cornwall, and as far north as Harrogate in North Yorkshire.
SLAIN has been recording all victims since reports started emerging in South London back in 2015.
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At the time, an alleged 'UK Cat Killer' was known locally as the 'Croydon Cat Killer', and the Metropolitan Police launched a joint investigation with local charity South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL).
Cats would be found decapitated with their tails cut off. Both cuts would be incredibly clean, and there would be no blood present.
Some time later - even a few days later - the head or tail would reappear in the exact same location to where the body was found.
But, the police closed 'Operation Takahe' in September 2018. The force claimed a lack of evidence of human involvement and a scientific report from the Royal Veterinary College as part of its reasoning for shutting down the search.
However, a number of local charities disputed the findings, and still believe the alleged killer is on the loose.
SLAIN's data has been seen by the Mirror, and claimed there were 386 confirmed victims since 2015, as well as 653 suspected cases.
Vets had confirmed all 1039 cases were human-related. Suspected cases were confirmed by assessing photographs of victims and their injuries, whereas confirmed cases were in-person.
SLAIN's Boudicca Rising told the Mirror: "The SLAIN team have been looking into these incidents for some time now.
"We are at a crucial stage of the investigation and we ask that people continue to report animal mutilation incidents to us by phone on 07957 830490 or on private message to our Facebook page.
"This map shows where incidents have occurred but also and perhaps just as important, where incidents have never happened.
"If you know of someone who made journeys to these locations on these dates please do get in touch with us. All information will be treated in the strictest of confidence."
Meanwhile, the police had been investigating the mutilations for a full three years, but there was no evidence of human involvement, it said.
Veterinary pathologists found the cause of death in 25 victims was blunt force trauma, such as being hit by a car. However the report made no conclusions on whether blows could have been delivered deliberately.
The Met Police then said scavenging by wildlife was the "likely cause" of cat mutilations.
CCTV footage was found for three separate cases showing foxes carrying bodies or body parts of cats, it said; all from 2017.
One of those cases involved a cat's head being found in a school playground in Catford, London.
Shortly before the case was closed by the Met, it had received freedom of information requests asking about funding for Operation Takahe.
Frontline Policing Commander Amanda Pearson admitted that the workload increased as more cases were reported, and there weren't enough resources available to keep up.
She said: "The decision was made to allocate a large number of similar reports of mutilated cats to the officers who were investigating the initial spate of such allegations. In particular, they were following up the six suspicious cases identified by the post-mortem examinations.
"While this increased the workload of those officers, it significantly reduced the resources that would have been required for different officers in different units to record and assess each allegation separately.
"It is this collating of reports that enabled officers to work with experts and reach the conclusion that no further police investigations are required into any of the allegations relating to mutilated cats."
The Metropolitan Police declined to comment on claims the UK Cat Killer had claimed more than 1,000 victims since 2015.
