Cats rescued in a cross-country chase by carers local to our very own Jiangsu Province who managed to have intercepted a truck carrying over 1,000 cats, both domestic and stray, have shed light on the illegal cat-meat trade proliferating in southern China.
Gu Min is director of the Mengtaqi Cat and Dog Manor in Shaxi Town of Taicang in Suzhou. On 4 November, Gu drove the cats back to his Manor after they were rescued by police following a pursuit by Gu for over 1,000 kilometres, from Jiangsu to Wuyuan in Jiangxi Province.
The following day, more than 40 volunteers came to the Manor upon hearing the news to assist with processing the cats. One told a reporter for The Paper that in October, she had discovered that many cats had been stolen from in and around her residential community. That same volunteer also immediately ordered 200 kilograms of cat food online for the Manor.
Then, on 6 November, a very tired-sounding Gu spoke with media by telephone to explain that the cats were currently being isolated and managed in separate cages, and that owners for them would be found in the future.
Gu also talked about the operation to intercept the truck, describing it as a cat and mouse game. “We found out very early that a truck with an Anhui license plate was loading cats near Suzhou. We waited for him to load at four separate points until there were more than 80 cages and over 1,000 cats in the truck”, said Gu.
“But we didn’t expect that he would go directly from Nanjing to Anhui to Jiangxi and then [attempt to go on] to Guangdong, so we drove and chased him.”
While Gu drove, he was assisted by several volunteer friends who also made live broadcasts, calling on people along the way for help.
Finally, at the suggestion of a volunteer, Gu was able to have the truck stopped under protection of the law by reporting the illegal behaviour of “driving a motor vehicle continuously for more than 4 hours without stopping or taking a rest for not less than 20 minutes”.
When police opened up the truck, they found it crammed full of bamboo cages, with as many as 20 cats stuffed into each.
It’s far from an isolated instance as the popularity of keeping cats as pets soars across China. Just a month earlier, Gu had intercepted another truck in Zhangjiagang, also in Suzhou, from which were rescued more than 700 cats.
Realising the cats’ probable final destination is also where the case becomes more distressing.
Southerly Guangdong Province is well known for its liking of dog and cat meat. There, cat meat is sold for ¥9 per kilogram, but the market price for lamb is nearer 60 yuan per kilogram.
A cat weighs 3.5-4 kilograms, from which it can yield 2-2.5 kilograms of meat. The cat meat is then passed off as mutton or pork, and the difference is all profit.
“As long as one cat is caught, they make a profit, but our rescue requires a lot of investment”, said Gu. “We also once again call for national legislation to protect [the animals], regulate sources, and crack down on the black cat and dog meat industry chain.”
