New Delhi: Vietnam police have exposed a cat theft ring by saving more than 400 felines. These cats were allegedly going to be slaughtered to become food.
The Ho Chi Minh City police caught what it called a “criminal group specialing in stealing and collecting cats.” Nine people have so far been arrested in the case, according to AFP.
Along with the living animals, the police also seized 80 dead ones preserved on ice in areas during raids in Ho Chi Minh City and Tay Ninh Province. Twenty-one more cats were found in another facility. Many of these cats were pets stolen from their parents. The criminals part of the alleged cat theft ring reportedly confessed to police that they were in operation for the past three years. The stolen pets were going to be sold to traders.
Humane World for Animals said in a statement that 40 of the stolen cats have been reunited with their owners. The police have asked other owners to come forward and collect their pets. The authorities are currently taking care of the rest by giving them food and shelter as the case gets investigated.
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Cats on the menu
“Every year in Viet Nam, an estimated five million dogs and one million cats are captured, stolen, trafficked and brutally slaughtered for their meat. This trade is not only marked by extreme animal cruelty but also involves significant criminal activity,” as per the Humane World of Animals. The organisation’s website also claims that traders use poisoned bait, tasers, and iron pincers to catch dogs and cats are trapped using spring-loaded snares.
The fact that dog and cat meat is not banned in Vietnam and is offered in restaurant menus is a big issue. It is generally seen on menus titled “little tiger” or “baby tiger”. Reportedly, people in northern Vietnam believe that cat gall has aphrodisiacal properties. According to data from a market research study by Four Paws, approximately 8 per cent of people living in Hanoi have consumed cat meat in their lives.
Humane World Animals found in a 2023 survey that Vietnamese people are increasingly opposing the consumption of cats and dogs.