Chinese Cats Skinned and Cooked Alive; Activists Outraged
Cruelty against cats is increasing in Guangdong, China, where over 10,000 domesticated cats are eaten daily. The cats, some of which are apparently being stolen from people’s houses, are transported in small cages to restaurants in the town where they are then cooked, often while they are still alive.
Activists in China are taking a stronger stance against this cruelty, and have begun demonstrating in Beijing against the treatment of cats used for food. 40 people, many of them elders who care for orphaned cats, protested outside of the Guangdong office in Beijing.
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A butcher from the province plans to continue using cat meat as the main ingredient in the region’s famous soup, which also includes chicken and dog. She blew the protests off, saying “Cats have a strong flavor.” The animals are likely to continue being used as food, as the Chinese, and the Cantonese in particular, are known for their adventurous taste buds.
But even if cats remain a food source in China, the abhorrent treatment of them must cease. Stealing companion animals from peoples’ homes and skinning them alive is something that would never be tolerated in many other countries, regardless of the type of animal.
With outcry like this, and with landmark animal welfare legislation such as California’s Proposition 2 passing, it is obvious that people are making the connection between the animals we see as “pets” and the animals we see as food sources. Maybe this awareness will even cause more people to make the switch the vegetarianism?
Photo Credit: Gruntzooki on Flickr under Creative Commons license
a) What about the dog?
b) What about the chicken and the bull and the rest of the animals? Are they less important?
c) People have been eating these animals for thousands of years. What gives you any right to insist they change? You moral superiority? Your
“greatness” as a westerner?
Stop being so hypocritical, racist, intolerant, and elitist. You are so far gone, you can no longer apply simple, rational logic to your thoughts.
James,
You clearly did not actually read the post. The issue is that the animals are being stolen from homes, skinned, and cooked alive. It’s the treatment that is being made an issue, not the species of the animal. However, you’re right that all animals deserve the same basic rights, including that to life without premature death.
-Alex
Thus proving the old maxim:
There really Is more than one way to skin a cat!
i think this is just rude and crul i love animals and i think its rude that they would do such a thing it’s just no frair that cats and dogs suffer like thins i just think chinese should get another food sourse to work with like something not living
This does indeed show me the connection between animals we see as pets, and those we see as food. However, far from sparking my conversion to vegetarianism, it makes me wonder what a catburger would taste like.
I don’t agree with the way these cats are being killed, but I have absolutely no issue with them being eaten. There is a big difference between animal cruelty and making dinner.
All Americans should boycott Chinease food in this country until it stops………I will never go there…..they r frickin wierd people….dont’t they have enough to eat?……..they even kill endangered species for food on the black market……..they r disgusting people,……….that country is disgusting……….the water there is so toxic that the rise of cancer is unbeleiveable…………they r destroying the earth…….at least the US is trying to make changes to protect the planet and it’s species………….I will make sure I don’t buy anything that comes from there……..It was said years ago that they traded cat for chicken right here in the US! we should hit them with an atomic bomb!
fuck you motherfucker
I am a vet, so I completley dissaprove of this. Yes, you can cook and eat animals, but not like this!! And their are certain species of animals that are very dangerous to eat eg. A chicken with bird flu, a cat with a disease.etc. P.s James is an asshole
Sorry, I don’t believe it. Remember how it used to be standard practice in past centuries to believe that your enemies ate babies? Now we look back and can’t believe people believed that nonsense. This is nonsense, too. I’m sure those cats were killed humanely; I’m sure most Chinese look on unnecessary cruelty as we do. And anyway, stress right before butchering ruins the taste of food, so it’s in their interest to butcher humanely.
Cat and Dog eating will stop in China in the future. For now the government of China should pass a law on how to kill these animals as quick as possible with the least amount of suffering. This is the responsibility of Hu Jintao.