Chinese Man Arrested for Torturing 1,500 Cats in Crypto-Funded Telegram Group

Chinese police have arrested a man accused of torturing approximately 1,500 stray cats to death in exchange for cryptocurrency payments. Authorities allege the suspect, a man in his sixties surnamed Ma, resided in Henan Province and led a private Telegram community dedicated to cat torture.

The Telegram group members reportedly paid Ma to produce custom cat torture videos. The community operated despite Telegram being banned in Mainland China, with users employing workarounds and proxies to access the platform.

Discovery of the first victim

In the early hours of April 19, volunteers from a local cat rescue group discovered a kitten with its eyes gouged out and throat cut in a trash bin near Ma’s residence. The group shared their findings with Chinese media outlet China Newsweek.

Tech startups in China have previously demonstrated tools designed to help police monitor Chinese-language groups on Telegram, though details about their deployment remain unclear.

Unmasking the ringleader

The cat rescue group, led by Henan resident Zhang, spent months investigating the identity of the group’s ringleader. Their efforts culminated last week with a breakthrough.

Zhang stated:

"Ma told an elderly neighbor he would help find new homes for more than 20 stray cats the neighbor was caring for. On the morning of April 18, Ma then adopted a kitten. And on the same night at around 11 pm, he suddenly turned up the volume on his TV."

The group suspects Ma increased his TV volume to mask the sounds of the kitten’s distress. The kitten’s body was found in the trash bin the following day.

The rescue group had been monitoring the Telegram user Mou Tian, believed to be Ma’s alias, for some time. Evidence indicated Mou Tian began posting cat torture videos on Telegram in 2022 and produced custom videos for customers who donated cryptocurrency.

Late-night excursions and evidence gathering

After analyzing photographs and videos, the group concluded Ma and Mou Tian were the same person. Before reporting their findings to police, they observed Ma’s behavior, noting he frequently left his home around midnight and returned between 4 and 5 am.

Zhang explained:

"We suspect that he deliberately chose to go out during times when there were fewer people around, so he could catch and abuse stray cats."

The group also found evidence that Ma had adopted cats through pet shops, online platforms, and rescue organizations, though the whereabouts of most remain unknown.

A group member using the alias Lin Feng told China Newsweek:

"Mou Tian had previously posted in the Telegram group about going out late at night to abuse and kill cats and trick people into adopting kittens. These details correspond to Ma’s behavior."

Online and on-site investigations

Volunteers spent days verifying their suspicions using online evidence. They conducted on-site visits and interviewed residents to confirm their findings. One of Mou Tian’s online posts, which described late-night activities involving cats, aligned with Ma’s known behavior.