Poisoned spy Sergei Skripal's pets are dead in wake of a U.K. nerve agent attack on him and his daughter at their home more than a month ago.
Their Wiltshire property was sealed off for investigations and when officials accessed the house again, they found two dead guinea pigs and a cat so severely malnourished that it had to be euthanized, according to The Telegraph.
The Russian former double agent and his daughter were poisoned after they were exposed to a nerve toxin that had been left on the front door of their home early in March, CNBC News reported.
They were found unconscious on a public bench and have been in critical condition since.
Their home was central to police investigations, but the pets perished in the days after the attack, when the property was closed off.
"When a vet was able to access the property, two guinea pigs had sadly died," a spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said, according to Sky News.
"A cat was also found in a distressed state and a decision was taken by a veterinary surgeon to euthanise the animal to alleviate its suffering. This decision was taken in the best interests of the animal and its welfare."
The animals' remains were incinerated to avoid contamination from the nerve agent Novichok.
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova previously sparked speculation after demanding to know the condition of the animals earlier this week, saying they were a vital piece of evidence.
"This is about living creatures, and if a toxic chemical agent was indeed used in the house they should have been hurt," she said, according to Sky News.
Russia's UN envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, asked about Skripal's pets at a Security Council meeting Thursday.
"What happened to these animals? Why doesn't anyone mention them? Their condition is also an important piece of evidence," he said, per CNBC News.
Russia's London embassy has referenced a second missing cat, but this has not been confirmed or addressed by U.K. government officials.
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