Japanese man who poisoned cats said he was driven by lifelong hatred of them

A total of five cats, as well as cat food which contained insecticide, were found dead near Tokyo in November
The man emerged as a suspect after police tracked a message on an online board that said: “I killed a cat with poisoned food”

Published: 5:20pm, 25 Feb 2019

A man in Japan who admitted to having killed cats with poison near Tokyo last November said he was driven by his long-standing hatred of the animal.

“I always disliked cats,” the 29-year-old man living in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, was quoted as saying by police.

The man is accused of killing three cats by placing poisoned cat food on the riverbed of Sagami River on November 17 and 24.

He was referred to prosecutors on Monday for alleged violation of the animal protection law.

A total of five cats were found dead in the area in the same month, as well as cat food which contained methomyl, a powerful insecticide.

The man emerged as a suspect after police tracked an online message board post that read: “I killed a cat with poisoned food”.

The police searched his home in January and found images on his computer and smartphone of cats that ate the poisoned food, investigators said.

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