Tests have confirmed that the carcasses collected by the police from a Chinese-run compound in Ħal Far were rabbits and not cats.
It transpired the Chinese man had nothing to do with the case
The case is linked to last month’s arrest of a Chinese man suspected of collecting stray cats – he was released fewer than 48 hours later.
“We would like to confirm that serological results have indicated that the carcasses were rabbits,” the police said yesterday when asked for the outcome of the forensic tests.
Three carcasses were found in a freezer at the barracks in Ħal Far where a community of Chinese workers employed by a clothes manufacturing company live.
The man was arrested while dining at a Chinese restaurant after the police received a tip-off that the white van he drove was seen collecting stray cats.
But the case seems to have been one of mistaken identity after suspicions about the man were raised by a concerned pet shop owner, from whom he had bought large quantities of cat food.
Two days earlier the Animal Welfare Department had issued a public appeal for information after cat lovers said a couple in a white van were going round catching stray felines.
Many people on social media claimed the animals were being snatched for their meat or fur, whipping up a frenzy that Chinese restaurants could be to blame.
It transpired that the man had nothing to do with the mysterious case of the vanishing cats, Chinese restaurants were not involved and the carcasses found by the police were rabbits.