ANIMAL-lovers fear black cats are being snatched and skinned by a ring of organised smugglers.

According to charity, Animal Samaritans, bandits are believed to be patrolling borough streets in a white van in search of black moggies.

Worried cat owners suspect the poor animals are then killed and scalped and their skin exported to Germany, to be sold as a remedy against rheumatism.

These latest claims could help explain the mystery of a recent rise in the number of missing cats.

The News Shopper has been flooded with calls from people fearing for their missing pets.

Mary Peacock, of Woolstone Road, Sydenham, is responsible for logging lost black cats on behalf of Catford-based Animal Samaritans. She said five had gone missing in just one month in Forest Hill, Chislehurst, and Sydenham.

Mrs Peacock, aged 68, believes they may have been snatched by the cat smugglers. She said: "This white van has been going around for the last two years and black cats have been missing ever since. They send them to Germany where their skin is used to heal rheumatism. People wear the skin round their wrists to alleviate it."

"It's horrific, how can they possibly think it's going to help?"

A spokesman for the Cats' Protection League said though the claims were worrying, investigations would have to be carried out before matters were taken further.

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