Trashman Finds Bag of Kittens Dumped in the Garbage After Hearing Cries

Garbage collectors were shocked to find kittens tied up in a plastic bag and thrown in the trash, after hearing their cries.

The workers made the heartbreaking discovery in France and shared the moment they saved the animals to their TikTok page, Les avantures de sauvee, which loosely translates to the adventures of the rescued. Sauvée is apparently also the name of a pup that was rescued by garbage collectors.

In the video, shared last week, one trash collector can be seen in the back of the refuse truck going through the garbage.

Another man filming can be heard saying "petit chat," which means little cat. In the background, the distinct meows of the cats can be heard.

The bag is tied so tightly the worker is forced to use a knife to cut it open, as he opens up the plastic on the ground, revealing a bundle of fur.

Numerous kittens—which appear to be five in total—are huddled up against each other. At first glance, they don't appear to be more than a few days old.

The video, seen more than 30 million times and able to be viewed here, was captioned, translated from French: "Another sad rescue, I'm disgusted."

In response to the interest the first clip received, the sanitation worker shared a follow-up clip a day later.

He filmed the tiny kittens cozied up in what appears to be a woolly hat, inside a cardboard box, with the update seen more than a million times.

And it seems he took them home to look after them, as a further three clips showed the kittens being bottle-fed and exploring a couch, while an inquisitive dog sniffs the new arrivals.

"They are all very well, they only ask to live," the video was captioned, translated from French.

Numerous people have praised the trash workers for saving the kittens, who undoubtedly would have died if they hadn't been discovered.

Commenting on the most viral video, Incredibly Baked raved: "Shoutout to the strong one meowing for the whole litter."

Alicelle commented: "I hope they found the house and people who did this."

Nidz thought: "I can't imagine what distress the mother cat is going through having her babies ripped away too."

Mimi admitted: "I genuinely cannot wrap my mind around people who think this is okay."

Aussiewolf asked: "How can ppl be so cruel."

While Patricia added: "Not all heroes wear capes."

Statista quoted figures from FEDIAF, The European Pet Food Industry: Facts & Figures 2019, which revealed in 2020 there were 15.1 million pet cats in France.

They're a popular pet in the European country, as the website added: "France ranked among the two European countries where it was most common to have a cat: only Germany had a higher cat population."

That same year, the Société Protectrice des Animaux (SPA) took in more than 40,000 animals.

Statista explained the figures, from the SPA, saying: "The organization took in 40,131 animals for adoption this year, of which 55 percent came from animal pounds, and 42 percent were abandoned in shelters. That same year, 516 animals were euthanized."

Newsweek reached out to @les_aventures_de_sauvee for comment.