This is the reason why, unfortunately, my cats are house cats. When I first got them I had every intention of them going outside - even got them jagged accordingly. Then I kept hearing all these horror stories and every time I went into my local supermarket/vets there were posters of missing cats. So, in the end I kept them indoors as I just couldn't live with myself if anything happened to them.
That is outrageous what is happening on that street - the poor cats are ending up in some evil person's hands and I don't even want to think about what they're doing with them. I know in East Lothian, cats were being taken to be used as bait in dog fighting.