A man in South Korea turned into a serial cat killer, killing a total of 76 cats.

The man, in his 20s, went on a cat-killing spree between December 2022 and September 2023, reported The Associated Press.

He strangled some of the animals, killed others with a pair of scissors, and ran one over with his car.

Hatred for cats

The case was dubbed as one of the country’s most gruesome acts of animal cruelty in recent years.

Court documents seen by AP revealed that the man harboured a "deep-seated hatred" for cats after some scratched his car.

He caught stray cats and adopted some from online sites before killing them in gruesome ways, including strangulation and using a scissors.

14 months' jail

The man, who was unnamed, was convicted of violating South Korea’s animal protection law, said the Changwon District Court in southeastern South Korea on Apr. 23, 2024.

The court took into account the fact that the man had no criminal records and was repentant, adding that he had an unspecified mental health status.

Nevertheless, the court ruled that the prison sentence was unavoidable, as he repeatedly committed "indescribably cruel" crimes in a premeditated manner.

The man is appealing the sentence.

Borami Seo, a director of the South Korea office of the Humane Society International, said that this case "emphasises the importance" of passing the Civil Act amendment that will legally recognise animals as living beings and further strengthen their protection in law.

Animal abuse in South Korea

This isn't the first of such animal abuse cases in the country.

In 2023, a man claimed that he collected over 1,000 abandoned dogs and starved them to death.

The animals' carcasses were found stacked in cages at a house in the South Korean village of Yangpyeong.

South Korea's revised Animal Protection Act prohibits people from capturing and killing animals "roaming about without their owner", such as abandoned animals.

Offenders found responsible for the deaths of their pets can face up to three years in prison or a maximum fine of 30 million won (S$30,000).

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Top images via Thomas Park Unsplash