Over 1,000 cats rescued in China from trucks headed to slaughterhouse

livemint.com:

CNN News. Acting on a tip-off by animal activists, the cops from Zhangjiagang bust an illicit trading practice that fraudulently sells feline meat as pork or mutton. The cops intercepted a vehicle used to collect and transport captured cats after the animal activists noticed a large number of nailed wooden boxes carrying cats near a cemetery.

The animal activists monitored the streets for six days and when the truck began ferrying the cats to the slaughterhouse, they called the police. The CNN citing a report of state-affiliated news outlet The Paper said the cats were likely to be slaughtered and shipped south to be served as pork and lamb skewers as well as sausages. An activist told The Paper that the illicit operation can sell a pound of cat meat for around $4 by passing them off as mutton and pork.

Each cat weighs about four to five pounds after they are processed. China has struggled with a long history of food and safety scandals in the past. In one of the latest food scandals that went viral in China was a rat’s head found in a school meal at a college.

Local officials originally insisted it was a piece of duck neck but later it was found otherwise. Local authorities came under fire in 2021 for the deaths of several pets euthanized after their owners tested positive for COVID-19. While there are laws in China protecting livestock and endangered animals, there is no general law targeting animal cruelty for pets.