09 February 2024 , 11:19
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A cat-loving pensioner was found with 117 dead felines stuffed in his freezer.
The 66-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested inside a "house of horrors" in the French Mediterranean town of La Roquette-sur-Siagne, near Cannes. An investigating source said how: "He didn’t think he had done anything wrong, except put the cats to sleep,".
They added: "He told gendarmes he loved his cats and wanted to give them eternal life." Agents working for AEPA, the French animal protection group, said 38 other cats, including 12 kittens and one pregnant adult, were also found alive around the man’s house.
Some were showing signs of typhus, while others carried varies wounds and were undernourished. The source added: "They had been living in the man’s dirty home for years, and were all in a very bad way. It was a real house of horror – there were other cats buried in the garden."
Some of the saved felines after 117 cats were found dead (AEPA)The man was arrested on Tuesday, and questioned overnight until Wednesday, before being released subject to court action. He was said to have been "in a frail psychological state" and would be assessed further.
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AEPA had been investigating the house since December, gathering information until it felt it had enough to inform police and search the grounds.
The animal protection group had been investigating the home since December after strong smells and "a lot of meowing" (AEPA)The group already aware of the home, following previous complaints about animal cruelty in 2021 and 2019, when 58 cats were recovered.
An AEPA spokesman said: "We investigated, we smelt strong odours, and heard a lot of meowing, so we called the police, who came to observe. After two months, the gendarmes obtained a search warrant."