The person responsible for killing two cats by stringing them to fences with shoelaces could potentially be a danger to people, the SPCA says.
Hamilton animal welfare advocates have been horrified by the crime, with two separate cases of strangled cats being found in the suburb of Fairfieldwithin a week.
Both cats had apparently been strangled to death after being tied to residential fences in the area.
SPCA Hamilton team co-ordinator Adrienne Corfe said there was increasing evidence of the link between childhood abuse of animals and serious adult offending.
"If a child or young adult is doing this sort of thing and thinking it's quite funny, then that's a real concern," she said.
She urged anyone with information about the cat killings to come forward.
She said the perpetrators could have come home with scratches or puncture wounds on their hands.
Ms Corfe said there had also been cases of ducks being strung up in trees in Hamilton East, and of people deliberately luring ducks onto the road with feed, then running them down in their cars.
Anyone who had seen such activity should contact the SPCA or police with car registration numbers or descriptions, she said.
