14 DAY TRIAL // It would appear that, in the case of an Italian man living in Brianza, at the foot of the Alps, cultural stereotypes concerning culinary preferences do not in the slightest apply.
Thus, instead of being quite fond of pasta, this 50-year-old man, whose arrest is now making headlines, very much likes eating cats.
What's more, the felines that he is interested in cooking and serving – maybe accompanied by some fava beans and a nice Chianti – must necessarily be black and quite plump ones.
Express reports that this Italian man, whose name has not yet been shared with the public, was taken into police custody after he was found cooking a cat he had just killed.
The people who found the man while the latter was busy preparing his peculiar meal were animal cruelty investigators.
Apparently, the investigators decided to visit his home because, despite adopting several cats from local shelters, the man refused to agree to routine welfare checks.
“We had been watching him for some time because over the Internet and at animal shelters he was asking for three-year-old black cats with some flesh on them,” Lorenzo Croce with animal welfare organization Aidaa explains.
All in all, the 50-year-old is said to have offered to provide a home for 15 black cats, all of which were eventually killed and eaten.
Oddly enough, the man did not eat the cats alone, but with friends. “He admitted to killing black cats and eating them in the company of friends,” Lorenzo Croce says.
It is unclear whether these friends knew what they were doing, or if maybe they worked on the assumption that their buddy would never dream of serving them roasted black cats.
The 50-year-old man is married, and has two children. Thanks to his passion for eating cats, he is now facing maltreatment charges.
If would guilty, he could be made to pay a fine of over ₤12,000 (€14,563 / $19,901), and also be sentenced to about one year in prison.