More than 1,000 cats have been rescued by authorities in China after pet lovers identified a ring that was snatching domestic and wild animals so they could be sold for their fur and meat.
Six people were taken into custody in Liaoning Province after the suspects traveled to Dalian City earlier in December in search of cats,
according to Sky News. Pet lovers who correspond online took notice of the suspects and contacted police.
The Daily Mail reported about 300 cats had been returned to their owners after the ring was broken up.
In 2012,
The China Daily reported that roughly four million cats are eaten in China each year. Cats are eaten in other countries as well,
noted the Huffington Post.
"In Guangzhou, cat meat is popular now mostly in restaurants on the outskirts of the city," Feng Dongmei, a manager of cat and dog welfare at the Animals Asia Foundation, told The China Daily in 2012. "Most of the cat eaters are older people and old habits die hard."
The Huffington Post reported last January that an estimated 1,000 cats were rescued by Chinese volunteers in Changsha after a truck carrying the animals was wrecked in a traffic accident.
Volunteers found the cats in more than 40 small cages in the truck, which was traveling to Guangdong where they were to be sold to restaurants as meat, the Huffington Post reported.
The China Daily reported that trade in cat meat is illegal and, under a 2007 law, food that is not customarily eaten in China is grouped among new sources of food and must obtain special authorization.
"The reality is not that people throughout the world or throughout China customarily eat cat, right?" An Xiang, an attorney told The China Daily. "As cat meat is a new food source, its production and business operation must abide by strict rules to get the safety certification and permission from the Ministry of Health."
Some expressed praise for authorities for breaking up the cat ring online.
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