Four helpless kittens abandoned in Astfeld – police are looking for witnesses!

Four helpless kittens abandoned in Astfeld – police are looking for witnesses!

On Thursday, June 19, 2025, the streets of Astfeld were the scene of a worrying incident. Four kittens were abandoned near “An der Haar” and “Unter den Schlacken”. The Goslar police are now faced with a serious task: to investigate a press release, announce the details of the incident and ask the public for help in finding the perpetrator. Two of the cats are red-haired, the other two are black - a sight that will break the hearts of many animal lovers. The Langelsheim police have called on people to report information on 05326 / 97878-0. Every little thing can be helpful in clearing up this cruel act and demanding possible consequences for the person or people responsible. Overall, it is a tragic reminder that such cases are unfortunately not uncommon in our society. As regionalheute.de reports, there is increasing concern about animal abandonment.

But Astfeld is not the only place where animal protection is on the agenda. Just a few days ago, on June 13, 2025, three kittens around five weeks old were abandoned in Garbeck near Balve. An attentive passer-by spotted the animals and immediately informed the police. The animal protection organization Peta could not remain idle and offered a reward of 500 euros for relevant information that leads to the conviction of the perpetrator. Björn Thun from Peta emphasizes that abandoning animals is not only cruel to animals, but also illegal. According to the Animal Protection Act (Section 3), such acts are clearly regulated and can be punished with fines or imprisonment of up to three years. Here too, the call for help is addressed to the public in order to prevent further abuses, as can be read on come-on.de.

Animal protection in Germany: An urgent issue

The sad incidents in Astfeld and Garbeck shine a bright light on an overarching problem. The “Map of Animal Cruelty”, which was launched by ANINOVA, ARIWA and Soko Tierschutz, has already recorded 214 animal welfare scandals since it was launched in 2016. This interactive map of Germany not only shows the prevalence of animal cruelty in German breeding, fattening and slaughterhouses, but also alarming statistics: In the first half of 2024, there were over 30 newly identified companies that are being criticized for animal cruelty. Around 70% of these cases concern cattle farming, with the discussion about tethering cattle being a particularly critical issue in public. But despite this overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing, in only 4 out of 214 cases was there a prison sentence for the perpetrators, as the data on aninova.org shows.

The recurring incidents of abandoned animals require a rethink: each of us can do something to counteract such grievances. Whether by reporting to the relevant authorities or by supporting animal protection organizations - it is up to us to give the animals a voice and not to let the cries of the helpless go unheard.