Chinese social media users are buzzing with outrage at
news that a "feline house" in Tianjin has been keeping cats to be
sold for human consumption.
They have raised concerns over food hygiene and many have posted
pictures of their own pets to raise awareness.
The country has already come under fire for a similar cat meat
scandal and its annual dog meat festival.
Some activists are calling for these "terrible and prehistoric"
customs to be dropped.
Eating cat meat is widely regarded as taboo in China, but it is
still eaten in some rural regions.
On 28 October, popular regional daily The Beijing News reported
that local police in the eastern city of Tianjin had found a
"common courtyard house with more than 200 cats crowded into very
small cages".
According to the report, "several villagers said that the
'feline house' had been leased to someone from outside the area for
two to three years".
"We have often seen in the past cats being transported by
vehicle, but we did not know what these people were doing," one
villager said.
The news went viral after it was posted on the popular microblog
Sina Weibo by influential papers the Yangtse Evening Post and Huaxi
Metropolis Daily. Both said rescue teams had confirmed that the
cats were to be shipped to Yunnan, Guangdong and Shandong provinces
to be used as food.
The Huaxi Metropolis Daily's post was shared over 3,000 times
and received thousands of comments from appalled social media
users.
Within two days, the hashtag #CatMeatUsedForHamAndKebabs had
become a Sina Weibo trend. Posts using the hashtag have reached
more than nine million, and more than 5,000 social media users have
actively used the hashtag to discuss the story.
Users appeared to be most concerned about food hygiene
standards.
"I will never eat food from roadside vendors again," said
Xiaocong Ban-Jiang, whose comment received more than 1,000
likes.
"What is happening to our country, why are there always problems
with food and drink?" lamented Xiao Ruyi Jin Baozi in another
popular post.
Weibo users across the country have been uploading pictures of
their own pets in protest.
"You can't not love them; please do not hurt them. I hope you
don't go to street vendors or unlicensed restaurants," Xu Xiao Piao
wrote.
"I do not understand how some people cannot tell the difference
between an animal companion and food," Xiaoyuan Zide Dream
protested.
State media reports say two men have been detained and that "the
matter is under investigation".