South Korean sentenced to 14 months in prison for killing 76 cats

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 cases of animal abuse 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 has not identified the man.

The man went hunting for cats between December 2022 and September 2023 because of a deep hatred for the animal that he began to harbor after other cats scratched his car, according to a court ruling seen by The Associated Press.

He had captured stray cats and adopted others from online sites before strangling some to death and killing others with scissors, the court order said. He killed one cat by hitting it with a car, the court heard.

The court ruled that the prison sentence was unavoidable because he repeatedly committed “indescribably cruel” crimes with premeditation.

It stressed that the verdict 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 appeared to be a motive for his crimes.

The man appealed the ruling.

“The verdict reflects Korean society’s growing concern for animal welfare and intolerance for senseless cruelties such as this,” said Borami Seo, director of the South Korea office of Humane Society International.

“This cruelty case also highlights the importance of passing an amendment to the Civil Code, which will legally recognize animals as living beings and further strengthen their protection under the law,” Seo added.