Cats are seen in cages for sale at a meat market in Guangzhou,
in southern China.
AFP - Monday, June 29
SHANGHAI (AFP) - - Animal activists in Shanghai have
rescued 300 cats from a dealer who had bought the allegedly stolen
pets for sale to restaurants in southern China, according to state
media.
The activists, acting on a tip from a cat lover, found 22 bamboo
cages full of cats in a freight yard, from where they were to be
shipped to Guangdong province, the Shanghai Daily reported.
Most of the animals were returned to their owners, but three
cats were found dead and some had broken legs, the report said.
"The cats are abused. They throw the cages on to a truck instead
of loading them properly. The cats that survive end up in soups at
restaurants," Lai Xiaoyu, an activist involved in Friday night's
rescue told the newspaper.
Restaurants pay about 50 yuan (7.31 dollars) a cat, according to
the report.
Police detained the cat dealer, Yang Baoguo, after he battled
dozens of animal lovers who descended on the freight yard to break
his cages, the newspaper said.
The dealer was released after a few hours without charge because
animal protection laws are nonexistent in China, the report
said.
"There is no law in China saying cats cannot be eaten," police
officer Ma Yong was quoted as saying. "Cats are not a protected
animal."
Yang, who has traded cats for a decade, bought the animals from
so-called hunters who trapped the cats in residential areas at
night, the report said.
Police could not charge him with possessing stolen property
because, unlike dogs, a licence is not required for owning a cat in
Shanghai, making ownership impossible to prove, the report
said.
Eating cat meat is a tradition in many parts of China,
especially in southern regions, where some restaurants specialise
in preparing the dishes, according to Chinese media reports.
