A B.C. man who videotaped himself torturing cats and kittens has been sentenced to 17 months in jail for animal cruelty after police used a tattoo on his left hand to identity him.

Jordan Lucas, 29, was arrested in Richmond last August and placed in protective custody to protect him from other inmates. He will serve another seven months in jail to complete his sentence.

Jordan Lucas, 29, has been sentenced to 17 months in jail for cruelty to animals (Crimestoppers)

The police investigation began after a woman bought a cellphone on Craigslist, which had a video card left in the slot.

The card contained a 50-minute video of a man torturing a kitten by burning it, choking it, wrapping a cord around its neck and swinging it against furniture.

All that was visible of the perpetrator was the man's hands and a tattoo, which police used to identify Lucas. They eventually found more videos showing a total of five cats and one mouse being killed over a two-month period.

In court in Vancouver on Wednesday, Lucas's lawyer told the judge his client feels like "a piece of shit" for what he did, and that at the time he had been up for five days and was high on crack, heroin and meth.

The judge told Lucas his problems with the law will continue until he fixes his drug problem.