Seoul, South Korea. A South Korean man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for killing 76 cats in one of the country’s most horrific animal cruelty cases in recent years.
The man, in his 20s, was convicted last week of violating South Korea’s animal protection law, the Changwon District Court in southeastern South Korea said on Tuesday. The court did not identify the man.
The man set out to kill cats between December 2022 and September 2023 due to a deep hatred for the animal he began sheltering after other cats scratched his car, according to a court verdict seen by The Associated Press.
He had trapped stray cats and adopted others from online sites before strangling some and killing others with scissors, according to the warrant. He killed a cat by running over it with a car, the court heard.
The court ruled that the prison sentence was inevitable because he repeatedly committed “unspeakably cruel” crimes in a premeditated manner.
He highlighted that the sentence still reflected the fact that the man had no criminal record and was remorseful for his crimes, adding that the man’s unspecified mental health condition was found to be a motive for his crimes.
The man appealed the ruling.
“The sentence reflects Korean society’s growing concern for animal welfare and intolerance of senseless cruelty like this,” said Borami Seo, director of Humane Society International’s South Korea office.
“This cruelty case also emphasizes the importance of passing the Civil Law amendment that will legally recognize animals as living beings and further strengthen their protection under the law,” Seo added.