About 80 animals died in an arson attack on a pet store in southeast Queensland.
A shed at the rear of the pet shop in Pialba, near Hervey Bay, was set on fire about midnight, police said.
The shed housed guinea pigs, reptiles and sick animals at Favourite Pets in Torquay Road.
Birds, guinea pigs, rats, mice, snakes and lizards perished in the blaze.
A police spokesman said there were no leads on the arson yet.
The store's owner, Tom Schroen, said he was shocked to hear his pet store had been targeted and had no idea why.
"I'm just as much in the dark as you are in that department," he said.
"We'd never even thought someone one would (set a pet store on fire)."
Mr Schroen said it was obvious the shed and a bird aviary beside it housed animals.
"We lost a fair few ... we lost about 80 animals - finches and parrots and rats and mice," he said.
Michael Beatty of the The RSPCA said it was hard to imagine what motivated people to harm animals.
"We'd like to see them charged with animal cruelty as well as arson because they obviously knew the animals were likely to die when they did it," Mr Beatty said.
"We have to wonder of the mentality of the person but we wonder that, sadly, on an almost daily basis anyway." References
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