Yonkers: Authorities in a suburb of New York are investigating the death of dozens of cats, who were found hanging from trees in plastic bags in a small, rubbish-strewn wood.

The cats were discovered by a sanitation crew

The cats may have been killed with blows to the head, an animal protection worker in Yonkers said. Some of the cats had been reduced to skeletons, while others had been killed within the last several days. The 25-30 cats were discovered by a sanitation crew.

Ernest Lungaro, of the Westchester County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said that investigators had found a baseball bat, two shovels and a metal pipe near the scene. It is unclear whether the cats were feral or kidnapped pets.