Cats weaponized in Italy wildfires as climate crisis fuels 160+ missions in 24 hours

Europe’s 2026 wildfire season, still above the 20-year average after a wet winter and successive heatwaves, is exposing a dangerous feedback loop: climate change creates ideal conditions for catastrophic fires, and organized crime is exploiting those conditions with horrific tactics like using live animals as arson tools. For the climate community, the Calabria case is a stark reminder that the human dimension of global warming includes not just accidental ignitions but calculated criminal acts that undermine both ecosystems and the green transition.

In a disturbing new twist to Europe’s escalating wildfire crisis, authorities in southern Italy have discovered that arsonists are using live cats as mobile incendiary devices. According to Domenico Costarella of Calabria’s Civil Protection Agency, cats with flammable-soaked rags tied to their tails were released into fields, spreading fire as the terrified animals fled. The revelation came as firefighters battled blazes around Pollino National Park, completing more than 160 missions in a single 24-hour period. This tactic is not isolated: similar incidents were reported in Sicily in 2016 and near Mount Vesuvius in 2017, often linked to organized crime seeking to clear land for speculative development. The combination of a warming climate, increased vegetation from a wet winter, and criminal opportunism creates a uniquely dangerous fire dynamic that challenges traditional firefighting and policy responses.

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This tactic is not isolated: similar incidents were reported in Sicily in 2016 and near Mount Vesuvius in 2017, often linked to organized crime seeking to clear land for speculative development.

The broader context is a European fire season that, while slightly better than the record-breaking years of the early 2020s, remains above the 20-year average according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). A wet winter produced abundant vegetation that dried into tinder after three successive summer heatwaves. This is a textbook example of how climate change amplifies fire risk: hotter, drier conditions lengthen the fire season and increase fuel availability, creating windows for both accidental and deliberate ignitions to cause outsized damage. Italy’s situation is particularly volatile due to the intersection of climatic factors, rugged terrain, and the presence of organized crime groups that view wildfires as a land-management tool.

Research by UC Berkeley’s Lauren Pearson has documented how Mafia groups set fires to acquire land at post-fire discounts, then capitalize on redevelopment or, more recently, clean energy subsidies. In one case, a farmer testified that Mafia figures used fires to coerce land sales for solar farms, exploiting Italy’s renewable energy incentives. This criminal dimension complicates fire response: arson is already a significant cause of wildfires globally, but the suspected involvement of sophisticated organized networks adds a layer of premeditation and strategic intent that makes prevention and prosecution far harder. The use of animals as living torches not only increases the difficulty of tracing ignition points but also inflicts horrific animal cruelty, which has prompted a 1,000-euro reward from the Italian Association for the Defense of Animals and the Environment for information leading to arrests.