Huntingdon mayor Stephane Gendron is facing criticism after he said that he tries to kill cats in his pickup truck.
“First of all, cats have no business being in the road, if it’s a stray cat in the road, bang, I accelerate,” he said on a recent French-language radio broadcast.
Townsfolk have assailed the often-outspoken mayor for his latest outrageous comments.
“I don't think it’s something to say. When you are a public figure like that you're supposed to be a role model for people,” said local resident Amanda Picard.
“That’s just unacceptable. I mean he is an elected official. He does, whether he likes it or not, represent Huntingdon,” said Rev. Brian Evans of Huntingdon, a town of 2,500 which sits 75 km southwest of downtown Montreal.
Gendron has long had his back up about stray cats in his city and council has even passed a bylaw requiring cat owners to sterilize their pets.
The SPCA has said that it will conduct an investigation into the comments, which also included other shocking admissions, according one representative.
“I believe stated that he enjoyed speeding up and did so when he saw a cat coming and that he had backed over a cat that had just given birth and I believe he talked about seeing kittens starve or die of thirst,” said Alanna Devine of the SPCA.
A person who willfully harms an animal can get up to five years in prison.
Gendron did not respond to CTV Montreal's interview requests.
