Vietnam police seized more than 400 cats in a cat meat crime ring in Ho Chi Minh City, according to animal welfare groups and local media. Among them, more than 40 were reunited with their owners last week but dozens of them died due to bad conditions.
This operation is “a sobering reminder of the enormous scale of Viet Nam’s cat meat trade,” said Karanvir Kukreja, who leads a campaign against dog and cat meat consumption for the international nonprofit Humane World for Animals, said in a statement.
The officers found 45 cages with 400 live cats and four ice-filled foam containers holding around 80 dead cats, with 21 live cats recovered at a separate location, according to The Ho Chi Minh City Criminal Police Division. Local media said that this is Vietnam’s largest cat welfare case in recent years.
“The suspects admitted to trapping and collecting cats across south Vietnam over the past three years in Ho Chi Minh City and the cities of Tay Ninh and An Giang”, police said to AP.
Most of the cats were pregnant when the kittens were born in police custody this week.
Chris Gindelhumer with the nonprofit Vietnam Cat Welfare, who is helping care for the rescued animals, said he “saw quite a lot of tears in the last few days.”
The consumption of dog and cat meat are legal in Vietnam, but vendors need to have permits to validate the animals’ origins. Beside that, cities like Hoi An in Vietnam are working with global animal welfare groups to stop dog and cat meat consumption in the city.
“This event surprised a lot of people and has raised awareness among many to stop consuming cat meat,” said An Pham to AP, a master’s degree student and avid cat lover in Ho Chi Minh City.
