A dozen kittens, 26 adults including 1 pregnant, were found alive (Picture: AEPA)
More than 100 cats have been found dead in a freezer at a ‘house of horror’ in southern France.
Police were called to the town of La Roquette-sur-Siagne, near Cannes, after an animal protection group detected ‘strong odours, and heard a lot of meowing’ from the home.
When officers finally opened the freezer, dozens of bodies were crammed inside.
The 66-year-old man who lived in the property told them he ‘loved his cats and wanted to give them eternal life’.
‘He didn’t think he had done anything wrong, except put the cats to sleep,’ said an investigating source on Thursday.
Agents working for AEPA, the French animal protection group, said 38 other cats, including 12 kittens and one pregnant adult, were also discovered alive around the man’s house.
They lived in the dirt at the man’s house for several years, deprived of care (Picture: AEPA)
Some were showing signs of typhus, while others carried varies wounds and were undernourished.
‘They had been living in the man’s dirty home for years, and were all in a very bad way,’ a source said.
‘It was a real house of horror – there were other cats buried in the garden.’
The pensioner was arrested on Tuesday, and questioned overnight, before being released subject to court action.
Some of the cats rescued by the animal organisation (Picture: AEPA)
‘He is in a frail psychological state and will be assessed further,’ the source added.
AEPA had been investigating the property since December, gathering information until it felt it had enough to inform police and search the grounds.
The group were already aware of previous complaints about animal cruelty there dating back from 2021 and 2019, when 58 cats were recovered.
An AEPA spokesperson 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.’
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