Police rearrested a taxi driver in Kawasaki on Thursday for violating the animal welfare law after he allegedly killed a wild pigeon he had captured.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department’s safety division, Hiroshi Tsuji, 49, has admitted to the allegations, saying, “It didn’t show me any affection, so I abused it. I purged it out of love."
Tsuji is suspected of killing the pigeon at his home in Kawasaki sometime between June and August last year by using a whip and his hands to hit the pigeon and using scissors to slit its neck.
He caught the pigeon along the bank of the Tama River in Tokyo’s Kunitachi City sometime between April and June of last year, according to the safety division.
It is believed he initially gave the bird food and water but began abusing it when it showed no affection in return.
Tsuji created an account on X last August under the name Mirai Aoshima and began uploading videos of him abusing the pigeon. Police had received over 100 reports regarding the account as of January, which also features videos of other birds being abused.
Tokyo police initially arrested Tsuji in January on charges of creating and using an electronic or magnetic record without authorization after he used a false name while attempting to purchase a parrot at a pet shop in the capital.
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