This week, as wildfires raged in southern Italy, investigators looking into potential arson discovered a disturbing sight: cats “with rags soaked in flammable substances attached to their tails.”
“These animals were released into the fields, causing the fire to spread,” stated Domenico Costarella from Calabria’s Civil Protection Agency in a video shared on Facebook on Tuesday. He mentioned that additional evidence also indicated arson, such as candles placed among flammable materials and devices designed for delayed ignition.
Firefighters continue their efforts to control the wildfires surrounding Pollino National Park in Calabria. According to Italian broadcaster RAI, firefighting teams have carried out over 160 missions in the region within the last day.
As reported by USdaily’s Italian affiliate SkyTG24, the Italian Association for the Defense of Animals and the Environment has lodged a criminal complaint and is offering a reward of 1,000 euros for any information regarding the individuals responsible for igniting the cats.
This year, Europe has faced a severe fire season, as highlighted by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). A wetter winter led to an abundance of new vegetation, much of which became highly flammable following three consecutive summer heatwaves. Although 2026 has been a less severe year for fires in Europe overall, the current fire season remains above the 20-year average, according to EFFIS’s daily report.
The use of cats to ignite fires is not a recent occurrence in southern Italy. In 2016, Sicilian authorities accused organized crime of employing cats to instigate forest fires in a national park. The following year, similar tactics were reported near Mount Vesuvius outside Naples.
Lauren Pearson, a researcher from UC Berkeley, informed USdaily last year that there is substantial evidence indicating that Mafia groups frequently set fires to seize control of land, often purchasing property at inflated prices afterward.
Recently, Pearson noted that certain organized crime factions have exploited the transition to clean energy in Italy; a farmer who testified to an anti-Mafia commission in 2022 revealed that solar panel companies approached him to buy his land after it was scorched.
Journalist Sergio Nazzaro, who previously served as a spokesperson for the president of the Anti-Mafia Parliamentary Commission, explained that Mafia groups take advantage of crises through front organizations, “from the labor that ignites the fire to the permissions to construct on charred land.”
In Calabria, Costarella from the Civil Protection Department cautioned that addressing arson requires a significant cultural change.
“We are resuming our duties and returning to our posts, but a change in mindset is essential,” he remarked. “These actions are inhumane. Unfortunately, humanity often proves to be its own worst enemy.”
