FUKUOKA (TR) – Fukuoka Prefectural Police have launched an investigation after several cats have been found to have been either beheaded or poisoned in Fukuoka City this month, reports TV Asahi (June 22).
At around 9:30 a.m. on June 21, a male resident in the city reported the discovery of several beheaded kittens. According to police, a knife or other object was used to cut or smash the heads of the animals at the neck.
The incident follows the discovery of two other beheaded cats at a residential garbage station in the city on June 1, police said.
Police added two other cats were brought to an animal hospital after being found on the verge of collapse at a parking lot of a residential complex on June 11 and the following day. One cat died the day after arrival; the other is unconscious. The cats, both considered stray, are believed to have had their feed poisoned.
“Due to the toxin entering the body, kidney failure occurred and various areas [of their bodies] were damaged,” said veterinarian Noriko Nakaoka, reports TV Asahi (June 19).
Police are investigating the cases on suspicion of violations of the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals.
