Tokyo, 6 February, /AJMEDIA/
A taxi driver was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing a captured pigeon he abused at his home near Tokyo, police said, after he posted videos of the abuse on social media.
Hiroshi Tsuji, a 49-year-old man from Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, allegedly captured a pigeon on a riverbank in Tokyo sometime between April and June 2024 and killed it between June and August.
He is accused of beating it with a whip and his hands before cutting off its head with scissors.
Tsuji was quoted as telling investigators before his arrest, “I purged the pigeon as it was unfriendly to me,” according to police. He filmed himself plucking the bird’s feathers and other abusive behavior and uploaded the footage on X, formerly Twitter.
The suspect had posted multiple videos of animal abuse on X since May 2023, with police receiving more than 100 reports and several animal welfare groups filing complaints.
He was previously arrested on Jan. 26 for allegedly using a false name when purchasing a small bird at a Tokyo pet shop in November 2024.
