Shandong police rescued nearly 150 cats crammed in iron cages at the slaughterhouse, most of them trapped pets.
When they were rescued by police, the cats were crammed in rusty cages, waiting to be slaughtered, said activist surnamed Huang of animal rights group VShine in Jinan city, Shandong province said on August 30.
“It was shocking to see their condition. Many of them were emaciated and screaming,” Huang said.
Most of the rescued cats were family pets but were trapped by a local gang. The gang members place sparrows in cages as bait, using remote controls to trap the cats that come in.
Activists also found 31 sparrows, a protected species in China, at the scene and released them into the wild.
China does not have a law to prevent cruelty to animals, but suspects in the ring can be prosecuted for bird poaching, property theft, and animal disease prevention rule violations.
According to the Humane Society International (HSI), about 10 million dogs and 4 million cats are killed for food each year in China. Dog and cat meat is considered a delicacy in some parts of the country, and the trade is still lucrative enough for gangs of dog thieves to run rampant.
Every June, the city of Yulin in southern China holds a dog meat festival. Live dogs and cats are also sold as food during this festival. The tradition of eating dog and cat meat is still maintained in the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, and southern China.
“These are two hot spots for cat eating in China,” said Dr. Peter Li, HSI China policy expert. “In the rest of mainland China, cat meat is not part of the culinary culture at all.”
China banned the consumption and trade of wild animals by 2020. Shenzhen and Zhuhai in Guangdong province banned the consumption of dog and cat meat in April, becoming the first cities in China to do so.
