A 29-year-old man in Nagano Prefecture was being questioned by police Sunday on suspicion of animal abuse, after video footage showing a caged cat being drowned was streamed live on the Internet, police officials said.
The 15-minute video, which was allegedly uploaded by the man, prompted a strong response from Internet users, who tipped off police. The man was being questioned on a voluntary basis on Sunday, officials said.
Police allege that, according to his own account, the man put the cat in a cage and lowered it into a river on the afternoon of June 29, streaming the act on a video-sharing Internet service using his smartphone.
The cat had been caught earlier in the day using an animal trap set up in the yard of his home, in the village of Otari. The man, who has not been publicly identified, allegedly told police he had decided to kill the animal because it had damaged his fields and property.
Asked why he had chosen to stream the abuse, the man is said to have replied: "I wanted to show that there is this way of getting rid" of animals, adding that he was "deeply sorry" for his "ill-judged behavior."