Japanese man, Hirata, admits to killing over a hundred cats with an air rifle

Yachiyo, Chiba, Japan: I have made the presumption that he used an air rifle. The news media reports that he used an "airgun". In a country where, politeness, integrity, good manners and self-discipline is important (or at least that is how it appears to Westerners), it is surprising to read about 49-year-old Yuichiro Hirata. He is a part-time employee and he told the police: "I have killed approximately 100 cats."

 Japanese man, Hirata, admits to killing over a hundred cats with an air rifle. Photo: Twitter.

He had been previously accused of killing over a dozen cats but he came forward to admit his crimes on July 15. In respect of one cat which is shot in the leg, breaking the cat's leg, he said: "I felt like I had conquered a vulnerable cat."

Last December he was arrested for killing a cat with his airgun at a housing complex in Yachiyo City. He's been accused of violating the Animal Protection Law and the Swords and Firearms Control Law. Social media users are outraged with one suggesting that the state puts him down i.e. euthanize him just like cats are euthanised by people. Another said that he needs to be incarcerated and be mentally evaluated. He needs to be continuously monitored and receive lifelong treatment.

A lot of Japanese people are angry. Comment: I don't have any more information. The story was reported in The China Post. It kind of proves that this sort of casual, psychopathic cat cruelty and abuse is not confined to the West. 

We normally read about it in the UK or America. That's because it is reported more often in those countries but of course it happens in any country where there are stray cats which offer up a juicy target to miscreants who want to entertain themselves by shooting at something that moves.

This is the great problem with feral, stray and community cats; they are a moving target for people obsessed with guns, death and shooting things. Whenever there are guns in society there will be a desire to use them and on whom do you use them? You can't shoot people without being convicted of murder but she can shoot cats and get away with it. But for the fact that this man gave himself up, he'd probably be taking pot shots at cats today.

Hirata lives in Chiba City’s Wakaba Ward. In 2003, he became licensed to carry the air gun for hunting and other purposes. Does Japan need to re-evaluate their gun licensing regulations?

It would be a good test of Japanese law enforcement to see what kind of sentence he received on conviction.