Teacher Buries 5 Stray Kittens Alive After Having Students Dig Their Graves At School, ‘Would Die Anyway’

A Japanese teacher has apologized after burying five stray kittens alive on school property after having students dig their graves. The teacher says the kittens “would die anyway,” so he decided to “take care of it” himself.

The Daily Mail reports that an unnamed school teacher at Yukendi high school in Funabashi Chiba, Japan, is under fire after he buried five stray kittens alive. A student expressed outrage to his parents after he found out that the grave he was forced to dig on school property was used to kill the kittens. The students were told to dig the five graves, but were not told at the time of digging what they would be used for. However, a student says the teacher later informed him that the graves would be used to bury the kittens.

After the student complained about the burial of the kittens to his parents, they went to school officials to lodge a complaint. The parents say little was done until the local media was contacted. The school finally investigated the incident and says the teacher admitted to burying some of the kittens alive. It appears that four of the five kittens were alive when they were placed in the hole. However, the teacher says he didn’t know what else to do with them.

“As they were strays and their mother had abandoned them I thought they would die anyway. I didn’t really know what to do with them.”

The school has not disciplined the teacher, but says they are currently discussing the issue of punishment. The school did provide an apology to the students and the public during a news conference on Tuesday.

“For this type of thing to happen at our school where we highly value teaching about the importance of life, we are terribly sorry.”

Though the school has not taken any disciplinary action against the teacher, some are asking that the police get involved over possible violations of the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals. The Mail reports that if found guilty, the teacher could face a large fine and even a prison sentence of up to a year.

After discussing the incident with school officials, the teacher did say that he was remorseful for his actions noting he acted without thinking the situation through fully.

What punishment do you think the teacher should face for burying the kittens alive? Should the school also discipline the teacher since he used students to dig the graves on school property?