The Vietnamese police have saved over 400 cats from being trafficked and slaughtered in Southeast Asia’s underground cat meat trade. This comprises one of the biggest feline rescue operations in Vietnam’s history.
Along with the 400 living felines, the Ho Chi Minh City police found 80 cat carcasses frozen in coolers. Nine people have been arrested for alleged involvement in a “criminal group specialising in stealing and collecting cats,” said BBC News, citing the official newspaper of the city’s police department.
The cats were reported to be emaciated, traumatized, and stuffed into cages. An unknown number of the animals died after being rescued because of the poor conditions they were in. A few of the cats were pregnant and have since given birth in police custody.
“The sad truth about this trade is that thousands of cats every month are being stolen, trafficked and slaughtered for meat across the country, and the fate of most is to end up at a slaughterhouse or restaurant to be killed and eaten,” said Phuong Tham, the Humane World for Animals Viet Nam country director. “Thankfully these survivors escaped that fate but this large seizure and the swift actions of the police are a welcome step in the crackdown that is badly needed on this trade.”
The cat meat trade is not illegal in Vietnam, but distributors are required to gain permits proving a cat’s origins. However, many black market sellers see this permit process as a nuisance and resort to stealing cats on the streets from owners, and trafficking them across borders to Laos, Cambodia, and China.
Additionally, one kilogram of cat meat sells for about $2.70, which according to statistics from the agrifood market data website Selina Wamucii, is costlier than a kilogram of chicken ($1.80) but much cheaper than a kilo of beef ($8.11). This gives black market sellers an opportunity to provide a relatively cheap and accessible meat to consumers with a moderate profit margin.
The animal rights organization Humane World estimates that over one million cats are “stolen, trafficked and brutally slaughtered for their meat” every year in Vietnam.
The arrest has coincided with a rising support among younger generations and pet owners to end the cat meat trade entirely, with Humane World reporting 71% approval for the banning of cat meat consumption and trade.
The Vietnamese government is planning on instituting more legal protections for cats and cat owners.
Cats are eaten most commonly in Vietnam during the Lunar Month for good luck, as animal rights organization Four Paws USA reports .
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