HORRIFFIC TREATMENT OF CATS IN CHINA!

[Crocus]

This morning on Sky News there was in insert on China's Feline Meat Trade.
About 10 000 cats are sold and eaten everyday. Apparently it's normal to eat cat meat in China, particular in certain areas but now has become a battleground because animal rights activists are totally against this.

These poor cats are treated in the most horriffic way, are cramped in wooden crates, are very thin etc. Apparently there's no laws regarding animal cruelty in China, so people just carry on with treating these animals and other exotic animals in the ways we don't want to know about.

According to the report, a cat trader even has been issued a certificate stating what he does is legal!

Cats get stolen from their owners to be sold to cat traders which of course sell them on a market. This all part of Chinese culture!

I feel sick to my stomach because of this, and I don't even want to know what else is going on there.

What are your thoughts and feelings on this, especially about the treatment of animals in China?

[jazzactivist]

It does seem horrible to our westernised eyes, crocus, but plenty of people in the West eat chicken which is produced in the same cramped and cruel conditions. People in poor countries can't afford to keep animals as pets, so they are all edible. When I worked in the Dominican Republic people in the poor favelas also ate cats when there wasn't anything else. I also remember beeing appalled on seeing a documentary about people in some of the Western Samoan islands who used live puppies as bait for catching big fish. Also, even in countries where it isn't the accepted thing, in poor communities people tend to eat whatever they can lay their hands on. When I lived in SA cooking and eating cats, seagulls and pelicans was done quite often in poor communities. Buying cheap tinned dog food to eat was also fairly usual. If your children are starving then I guess anything goes.

[Crocus]

Problem is Jazz, it's the way these poor cats are treated! It's absolutely horrific.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Cat-Meat-Trade-In-China-Felines-At-Centre-Of-Cultural-Battleground-In-China/Article/200903115235368?lpos=World_News_First_Home_Page_Fe ature_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15235368_Cat_Meat_Trade_In_China%3A_Fe lines_At_Centre_Of_Cultural_Battleground_In_China_

[jazzactivist]

Yes, I agree with you, crocus, that the conditions are horrible, but I think that Sky News is playing on the sentiments of westerners here in singling out cats. I expect that all other food animals are treated in the same way in China, and we in Europe certainly don't have much room to point fingers given how animals like hens, pigs, and veal are traditionally farmed and kept. I think that the best thing would be if the G20 were to agree a requirement for all animals intended for food to be kept in free range and humane conditions, but then there would be mass outcry about the increased cost. Or we could all become vegetarians...

I once ate snake in a posh restaurant in Durban. It was brought to the table live in a linen bag and then whacked on the edge of the table to kill it, chopped up and a small BBQ brought to the table for it to be cooked on, then served with different sauces. It wasn't my idea of a fun meal but no-one else seemed to mind as it was only a snake. While I don't like snakes, it still seemed unnecessarily cruel.

[Crocus]

The fact that they eat cats to me arn't as terrible as this video on Sky News where these poor animals are treated in the worst way possible. They are thin, I don't know how many cramped in wooden boxes, the rest I don't even want to think about. The Chinese now started to complain about the way these cats are treated, well treated is not the right word I think, torture comes to mind. I really was sick to my stomach this morning and still feel unsettled by what I saw this morning. I really hope that animal rights activists in China will be able to do something about this.

[jazzactivist]

It is best if the people who live in the country start to do something to change it, and it seems like there are groups there who are taking it on. The news report tells of people letting the cats loose, and I can understand why they want to do that, but if they are in really poor shape and have diseases then they could spread them around. I have seen advertisements to give money to stop the trade in dog meat in Korea where dogs are also treated as badly as these cats. Eventually, I expect that Far Eastern countries will have to stop this inhumane trade, and I hope that it is sooner rather than later.

[Crocus]

I so hope that somewhere someone in the Far Eastern countries will stand up, do something, if only to try and get it on news channels. At least it's a start. It really is inhumane Jazz and it's heartbreaking.

[Clunkshift]

Sadly, I have been to Korea where dogs are routinely killed for meat too.


But near where I live I see horses being reared for meat, they will be exported live to the continent and killed there, whatever condition they arrive in.