1,000 cats rescued from illegal meat trade by Chinese police

A tip from animal welfare activists led to the arrest of more than a thousand cats by Chinese police, who were able to prevent them from being killed and sold as mutton or pork, according to state-affiliated media sources.

Apparently, the animals were taken to a shelter after the Paper reported that they were taken to a shelter.

In the report, it was revealed that there had been a criminal trade in cat meat and that new concerns about food safety were sparked by the rescue.

According to the activists, cat meat can fetch 4.5 yuan ($0.61; £0.51) per catty, which is basically equivalent to 600g in Chinese units of measurements, whereas the meat can fetch around 3 yuan ($0.05) per catty. It is possible for one cat to produce between four and five kittens at a time.

In addition, it was unknown whether the cats were stray or owned when they were rescued. On their way towards the south of the country, they were going to be prepared as sausages and skewers of lamb and pork that would be served in southern restaurants.

Activists in Zhangjiagang have alleged in The Paper that they saw a large number of cats kept in nailed-up wooden boxes in a cemetery for over six days.

It was during the placing of the cats onto a truck on October 12 that they decided to pull over and contact the police.

As a result of The Paper’s report, which was published last Friday, thousands of angry comments have been posted on China’s Weibo social media network. According to some users, the food business needs to undergo more thorough inspections in order to be able to function.

Weibo users expressed their wish that these people be put to death in a horrible manner.

Another person commented: “When will there be laws to protect animals? Isn’t the life of a cat or dog just as important as our own?”?

In one of the comments, a user mentioned that “I won’t be eating barbecue meat outside anymore.”.

At a college in the province of Jiangsu in early June, a student found a rat’s head in the food he was eating, which caused quite a stir. In spite of the fact that the student was right, school administrators initially tried to argue that the meat was duck before they finally acknowledged the student’s claim.