That was close… Earlier this week, animal rights activists rescued more than 1,000 starving cats on their way to slaughterhouses in the south of China.
The truck carrying the frightened, malnourished cats was seized in Jiashan county, in China’s eastern Zhejiang province. According to members of the Suzhou Small Animal Protection Association (SSAPA) who stopped the vehicle, the cats were on their way to being slaughtered and sold for meat.
After a tip was shared by a local resident, members of the SSAPA rushed to find the truck which was stacked with about 50 cages of cats. Each cage, horrifically, contained around twenty felines. The conditions caused a number of the animals to become injured.
The lead member of the SSAPA, Xiaboai, shared with the Daily Mail that nearly half of the rescued cats died shortly after the rescue. Unfortunately, many of them were still too young to have been separated from their mothers.
He also included that one in three of the rescued cats was wearing a collar, a clear sign many had been snatched from their homes and were being missed by loving owners.
According to the charity, a police investigation is warranted as a result of the theft. Let’s hope the criminals behind this inhumane act are brought to justice.
The driver of the truck, Liu Yen, insists that the animals had all been ‘abandoned’ by their previous owners and sold to the dealers.
The animal rights organization deems that unlikely, however, and asserts that they were ‘more than likely’ on their way to a slaughterhouse to be sold for meat in restaurants. The allegation was left unconfirmed by the driver.
While Westerners frown at the idea of consuming beloved household pets, cats and dogs are commonly butchered for sustenance in China. The only difference between a household pet like a cat and a cow is… none, really. Except that people decide one is more important than the other.
What’s most upsetting about this story are the conditions the felines were subjected to, as well as the fact half of them died and one-third were stolen from their homes.
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