Over the past few years in parts of the South West, a number of farm animals have been found killed in the fields. The nature of the injuries indicates that a large predator must have been responsible. Local people talk of a number of 'big cats' such as pumas being responsible, claiming that such animals have indeed been seen. Official investigations into these claims have dismissed them, concluding that any sightings have been of domestic rather than of big cats. But these investigations have failed to deal with the point that, even if the sightings can be explained in terms of domestic cats, the injuries on the carcasses of the farm animals cannot be. Big cats such as pumas must be responsible for these attacks.