Reward offered for information on man who skinned cat in Malaysia

The Malaysia Animal Association has offered a reward of RM3,000 ($637) to anyone who can provide information that could lead to the arrest of a man filmed abusing a cat.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) announced the reward in a June 24 Facebook post, in which it also provided details, including images and a 48-second video, of the alleged incident.

In the video, a man can be seen using a cleaver to skin the cat as he speaks to the camera in halting Malay.

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The Malaysia Animal Association said the man is believed to be a Myanmar national who works at a snack shop in Selangor.

As of midday on June 26, the post had been shared more than 250 times.

A thorough investigation is needed to identify the motive for the alleged murder, the NGO added.

If it is found that the man intentionally killed the cat for media purposes, he should be arrested, investigated and brought to justice, the statement said.

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“Morally, killing cats for consumption is not a cultural practice in Malaysian society and should not be normalised,” the text added.

In the post’s comments thread, many Facebook users expressed their anger over the incident.

User Afiq Afandi said in Malay: “I’m shivering looking at the photos.”

Another user, Irwan Kaitou, said: “If it’s saved, that means it’s for creating content. »

A report about the incident is also circulating on social media platform Reddit, with some users calling for the man to be put behind bars. Others pointed out that it was unclear whether the man killed the cat.

Reddit user Yozoragadaiksuki said the cat may have already died before the incident.

“It’s not a problem for me if they want to eat carcasses,” the user said.

Under Malaysia’s Animal Welfare Act, those found guilty of animal cruelty face a fine of between RM20,000 and RM100,000, up to three years in prison, or both.

In 2019, a man convicted of causing the death of a pregnant cat in a Kuala Lumpur laundry was sentenced to two years in prison.