LIVE kittens are being used as bait by professional fishermen hunting giant catfish for European restaurants.
The cruel practice came to light when police boarded a fishing boat on the Po River in Northern Italy and found a stash of frightened kittens ready to be placed on hooks.
The case, which police say is not isolated, has outraged European animal rights groups.
Police believe greedy fishermen are using kittens as bait because their anguished thrashings attract catfish, the flesh of which is regarded as a delicacy.
Others hunting the fish, with its jutting lower jaw and long curling whiskers, are dangling live, harpooned eels in the water.
The freshwater catfish - also known as sheatfish - grows to a length of 2m and can weigh up to 225kg.
Large specimens have been known to charge anglers' boats, and sometimes the fierce fish eat each other.
The sheatfish, found in central and eastern Europe, is the Po River's largest predator. Having consumed all eels and carp, it has been seen eating ducks and large rats.
Italian police officer Giuseppe Lagana, who detected the first case of kitten-baiting in May, said the incident was not isolated.
He told the European Independent Digital news organisation many fishermen using live kittens were taking desperate measures to avoid detection.
"During a nocturnal patrol this week, one boat managed to evade our checks," Mr Lagana said. "It ignored warnings and cleared off with its lights extinguished.
"We suspect this was also one of these fishermen without a conscience. Using live kittens to catch sheatfish is an unheard-of cruelty."
Mr Lagana said authorities had little hope of stamping out the practice.
Thousands of anglers go to the Po River district to hunt the big, omnivorous fish from boats and houseboats.
"Last year, the voluntary guards in the region covered 15,000km," Mr Lagana said.
"But to catch these squalid people in the act is very difficult, even using co-ordinated land and water night patrols."
The cruel practice came to light when police boarded a fishing boat on the Po River in Northern Italy and found a stash of frightened kittens ready to be placed on hooks.
The case, which police say is not isolated, has outraged European animal rights groups.
Police believe greedy fishermen are using kittens as bait because their anguished thrashings attract catfish, the flesh of which is regarded as a delicacy.
Others hunting the fish, with its jutting lower jaw and long curling whiskers, are dangling live, harpooned eels in the water.
The freshwater catfish - also known as sheatfish - grows to a length of 2m and can weigh up to 225kg.
Large specimens have been known to charge anglers' boats, and sometimes the fierce fish eat each other.
The sheatfish, found in central and eastern Europe, is the Po River's largest predator. Having consumed all eels and carp, it has been seen eating ducks and large rats.
Italian police officer Giuseppe Lagana, who detected the first case of kitten-baiting in May, said the incident was not isolated.
He told the European Independent Digital news organisation many fishermen using live kittens were taking desperate measures to avoid detection.
"During a nocturnal patrol this week, one boat managed to evade our checks," Mr Lagana said. "It ignored warnings and cleared off with its lights extinguished.
"We suspect this was also one of these fishermen without a conscience. Using live kittens to catch sheatfish is an unheard-of cruelty."
Mr Lagana said authorities had little hope of stamping out the practice.
Thousands of anglers go to the Po River district to hunt the big, omnivorous fish from boats and houseboats.
"Last year, the voluntary guards in the region covered 15,000km," Mr Lagana said.
"But to catch these squalid people in the act is very difficult, even using co-ordinated land and water night patrols."
