A 49-year-old man has been arrested over accusations of animal abuse on Monday night after nearly 30 pets were found dead and injured behind a housing estate in the New Territories over the weekend, with the organization treating the surviving pets saying they appeared to have fallen from a height.
HK01 reports that police were called to the Hong Kong Garden housing estate on Friday after the dead and wounded animals were found outside block 19 of the complex.
Police found 25 animals — including a parrot, chinchillas, a guinea pig, hamsters, cats, and rabbits — of which 15 were declared dead on the spot. The remaining 10 were immediately sent to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for treatment to their injuries.
Over the next two days, security guards called police again after reporting that four more injured cats had been found nearby, the SCMP reports.
A spokesperson for the SPCA said they believe the animals were thrown from a height, and a preliminary police investigation led them to a fifth-floor apartment where a search led them to believe the animals were kept beforehand.
Though the occupant of the apartment wasn’t home at the time of the search, a 49-year-old man surnamed Ip turned himself in to police on Monday night in relation to the case, and was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty and detained for further investigation.
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