Former Japanese breeder arrested for smothering unfertile dogs

A former animal seller in Japan was arrested Thursday on suspicion of suffocating to death three non-fertile dogs he kept for breeding purposes, police said Thursday.

Yukio Watabe, 81, allegedly violated the animal welfare law by using plastic bags to lock and asphyxiate three dogs in cages at the breeding facility on his property in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, between approximately May 6 and 12.

Watabe said “keeping dogs alive that can't procreate costs money, so I killed with the intention of taking responsibility,” according to police. But he also suggested he did not kill two of the three dogs.

Watabe bred more than 170 dogs, such as toy poodles and Pomeranians, many of which were sold at pet auctions, police said. His sales for 2022 to 2023 totaled about 36 million yen ($224,000).

Police had received a report that dogs that could no longer breed were being fatally suffocated at the facility. They found dog carcasses during a search of the suspect's house on May 12.

His business has been subject to administrative measures three times since 2022, including due to poor hygiene, the Saitama prefectural government said.