A Tokyo taxi driver was arrested for deliberately driving into a flock of pigeons and killing one, police said Tuesday, reportedly because he was angry that the birds were on the road.
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Atsushi Ozawa, 50, “used his car to kill a common pigeon, which is not a game animal,” in the Japanese capital last month and was arrested on Sunday for violating wildlife protection laws, a Tokyo police spokesman told AFP.

Ozawa sped off from a traffic light when it turned green, ploughing his taxi into the bevvy of birds at a speed of 60 kilometres (37 miles) per hour, local media said.

The sound of the engine reportedly prompted a surprised passer-by to report the incident.

Tokyo police had a veterinarian perform a post-mortem on the hapless pigeon and determined its cause of death as a traumatic shock, according to local media.
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“Roads belong to humans, so pigeons should have dodged out of the way,” Ozawa was quoted by local media as telling investigators.

Police called his behaviour “highly malicious” for a professional driver before deciding to go ahead with the arrest, broadcaster Fuji TV said.

“Wow, can you get arrested for running over a pigeon?” one user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“He could’ve just honked his car horn or something. But intentionally killing it? That’s crossing the line,” another posted.
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