Japanese cab driver arrested for killing pigeon

A Japanese taxi driver has been arrested on suspicion of violating the country's wildlife protection law for running over and killing a pigeon on a street in Tokyo, police said on Tuesday.

The 50-year-old male driver was taken into custody on suspicion of driving into a flock of pigeons in November and killing one of the birds in Shinjuku Ward, Xinhua news agency quoted the Metropolitan Police Department as saying.

Japan's legal system takes a harsh stance against animal abuse.

In June, a man in Nagoya was arrested for killing 13 crows in the city's temple precincts and parking lots, which are outside hunting areas, by scattering pesticide-laced bait without permission.

Apart from the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals, the Wildlife Protection, Control, and Hunting Management Act provides additional protection for wild animals that tend to be excluded from animal protection laws.