In a startling incident in Italy, a Nigerian migrant was discovered attempting to cook a cat on a makeshift fire at a children’s park.

Disturbing images captured the man, armed with a stick, tending to the flames beside the lifeless cat near the vibrant play structures of a Sarzana playground in northern Italy last Tuesday.

Witnesses immediately informed the authorities about the unsettling scene, with the man only able to explain that he was driven by hunger, according to the Italian news source Città della Spezia.

By the time police reached the scene, the fire had already been extinguished.

Although the man was taken into custody, police were unable to ascertain whether he had killed the cat or found it deceased.

He was not charged with animal cruelty, a decision that prompted Mayor Cristina Ponzanelli to voice her outrage, condemning the act as “cruel and inhumane.”

“How is it possible that people who demonstrate a disregard for the fundamental rules of civil co-existence can continue to roam freely throughout Italy without real consequences?” the mayor asked.

“This is no longer acceptable.”