Several mutilated cat carcasses have been discovered in Saitama City, Japan, over the past 10 days or so. This has alarmed locals and prompted authorities to step up security measures in schools to protect young students from the potential cat killer. CNN said that the first carcass of a brown-speckled cat was discovered in the city beside the Arakawa River, where a woman discovered the head and paws had been cut, and the rest of the body had been discovered on a nearby road. According to VICE international news, the police also discovered a cat’s jaw in mid-February hanging from the playground bars and strung with a piece of twine on the premises of an elementary school.
The Japanese city recently imprisoned a murderer who tortured cats and posted videos of his deeds online
Towards the end of the month, two more mangled cat carcasses were discovered by a number of locals in Saitama City, one on a field and the other on a narrow road. Despite the lack of any evidence suggesting that these heinous crimes may also have involved human victims, the city has remained on edge due to its history of such atrocities. The Japanese city recently imprisoned a murderer who tortured cats and posted videos of his deeds online. Similar incidents of child murder occurred in Kobe, Japan, in the late 1990s after a 14-year-old boy with a history of animal cruelty killed two children aged 10 and 11 and injured three more.
An official who has coordinated patrol efforts on behalf of the Saitama educational board noted in relation to the case that “it was a sad time in Japanese history” and that this has particularly caused concerns among parents. He also mentioned how youngsters have been instructed to inform their teachers of anything unusual. According to CNN, an 80-year-old woman who spoke to NHK said that after learning about the cat kills, she felt “scared and uneasy” and that her concerns extended beyond animal welfare.
Animal cruelty in Japan is illegal and is punishable by a maximum five-year prison sentence or a fine of 5,000,000 yen
Teachers have been urged to accompany students home and stroll in big groups because these carcasses have also been discovered close to schools, according to Japan‘s official broadcaster NHK. The city’s police have increased patrols in the interim and are looking into the two cat homicides as possible violations of Japan’s animal protection law. Animal cruelty in Japan is illegal and is punishable by a maximum five-year prison sentence or a fine of 5,000,000 yen ($36,600). The number of people imprisoned by the nation’s police for suspected animal mistreatment increased to at least 170 in 2021, the highest number since records began to be kept in 2010.
A barrister who founded the Hong Kong Animal Law and Protection Organisation, Kim J. McCoy told CNN how some cases of animal cruelty have “evolved into more serious offenses against humans.” He added, “There is empirical evidence to support the direct correlation between those who commit animal abuse and those that commit other more violent crimes on people.”