Fukuoka Pref. couple reported to prosecutors after 11 pets found in feces-filled home

FUKUOKA — A married couple in Fukuoka Prefecture were referred to prosecutors on Oct. 19 after a total of 11 dogs and cats were found in their feces-filled home.

Fukuoka Prefectural Police's Chikugo Police Station sent papers on a 65-year-old part-time worker and his 37-year-old wife who manages a pet salon, from the prefectural city of Okawa, to the Fukuoka District Public Prosecutors Office's Yanagawa branch on suspicion of violating the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals by keeping the pets under poor conditions.

The couple are specifically accused of abusing nine dogs, including a toy poodle, and two cats by keeping them in their wooden one-story home full of pet excrement on May 18. According to the police station, both suspects have admitted to the allegations. The dogs were allowed to roam free indoors, while the cats were kept in a cage measuring 90 by 56 centimeters and 1.2 meters high, and their excrement was piled up to a height of about 6 cm.

The matter came to light after nearby residents reported to a police box about bad odors coming from the house. The 11 animals had dermatitis and hair loss, and all of them were taken into custody.

The wife was operating a pet salon in the prefecture, but about a year ago the electricity at their house was cut off. Since then the suspects had apparently been living at the pet salon. The husband stated that he only fed the animals once every two days, and the wife said that she left them alone because she thought her husband would clean them.

(Japanese original by Hyelim Ha, Kyushu News Department)