'Cat Island' deaths: Elderly man in Japan accused of poisoning felines

South China Morning Post

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/reuters/06/12/20200528-health-coronavirus-france-cat.jpg"/><figcaption>A cat is shown in this file photo. Police in southern Japan are building a case against an elderly man suspected of decimating the feline residents of &quot;cat island&quot; with poison. <em>Reuters/file</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Police in southern Japan are building a case against an elderly man suspected of decimating the feline residents of &quot;cat island&quot; with poison.</p><p>Umashima island, about 10km off the port of Kokura, in northern Kyushu, became well known for being home to 30 humans and about 100 cats, nearly all strays.</p><p>The island, along with nearby Aoshima, which also has a high population of cats, is something of a tourist destination and is especially popular with Instagramers and other social media users.</p><div class="methode-html-wrapper"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The docile inhabitants of Umashima Island pic.twitter.com/KziqFaFmeK</p>&quot; (@afiqir__) January 17, 2020</blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div> </div><p>The first reports that cats were dying of an unknown cause came in September 2017, and their numbers fell to less than 30 in the next two years.</p><p>The Fukuoka-based non-profit organisation Stopping Cruelty to Animals Testament (SCAT) opened an investigation after about 40 cats were found dead, and received numerous reports of fish with a strange blue tint being left in places around the island.</p><p>Cats that ate the food soon collapsed and foamed at the mouth before dying, the group found.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/10/23/19/italian-couple-saved-from-landslide-by-their-cats">Italian couple saved from landslide by their cats</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/04/17/19/cat-science-why-its-better-to-keep-the-cat-indoors">Cat science: Why it&#x27;s better to keep the cat indoors</a></li></ul><p>It shared its report with a second anti-animal cruelty group, Taisetsuna Nekotachi, which then passed it on to police in October last year.</p><p>The breakthrough came when a reporter from The Mainichi newspaper saw an elderly man putting out food and questioned him.</p><div><img alt="Cat figurines called " height="385" src="https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2020/06/11/43730792-abbd-11ea-bf1b-7541df8028ff_1320x770_175154.jpeg" title="Cat figurines called " width="660"/></div><p>He reportedly said he was leaving the poisoned food &quot;to exterminate crows&quot; &quot; but denied targeting the cats.</p><p>The man has not been named, but he is believed to be in his 80s and is a resident of the city of Kitakyushu.</p><h3>How Japan&#x27;s Cat Heaven Island became a tourism magnet</h3><p>Police sent files on the case to prosecutors on June 5 and he is expected to be charged with violating a number of animal protection regulations.</p><p>&quot;The revised animal protection law went into effect on June 1 with more severe punishments,&quot; SCAT director Sachie Yamazaki told The Mainichi.</p><p>&quot;I hope the consequences of this case will lead to the prevention of more animal abuse.&quot;</p><div><strong>© 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.</strong></div>

<p>Police in southern Japan are building a case against an elderly man suspected of decimating the feline residents of "cat island" with poison.</p>

Police in southern Japan are building a case against an elderly man suspected of decimating the feline residents of "cat island" with poison.

'Cat Island' deaths: Elderly man in Japan accused of poisoning felines | ABS-CBN

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'Cat Island' deaths: Elderly man in Japan accused of poisoning felines

'Cat Island' deaths: Elderly man in Japan accused of poisoning felines

South China Morning Post

Published Jun 12, 2020 08:17 AM PHT

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