Felines, intended for human consumption, were crammed into rusty cages when they were discovered by the police.
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Safe and sound. Nearly 150 cats intended for human consumption have been rescued by police in eastern China, animal rights organization Humane Society International (HSI) said in a statement on Tuesday (August 31st). The felines were crammed into rusty cages when they were discovered by police in Jinan city, Shandong province.
Sparrows were placed in cages as bait and a remote control was used to close the traps as soon as a cat entered, said an activist from VShine, a local animal rights group. “It was shocking to see the state they were in. Many of them were emaciated”said Huang, another activist, quoted in the HSI statement. “Our discovery of dozens of live sparrows being used as bait to attract cats was also a big shock.”
Most of the rescued felines are thought to be pets and were sent to shelters after their rescue, the statement said. Activists also found 31 sparrows – a protected species in the country – and released them into the wild. China has no specific law to punish animal cruelty. But the suspects could be prosecuted for hunting birds, stealing cats or for breaking animal disease prevention rules.
According to HSI, about 10 million dogs and four million cats are killed for human consumption each year in the country. Every year in June, the city of Yulin, in the province of Guangxi (south), organizes a dog meat festival on the occasion of the summer solstice. Cats are also sold there to be eaten. However, these meats remain very little consumed in China. They are mainly in certain areas of the southern provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi. Consumption is in steady decline with the increase in the number of pets.