Police in Vietnam seized more than 400 cats in a major bust of a cat meat crime ring in Ho Chi Minh City, according to animal welfare groups and local media reports.
More than 40 of the rescued cats were reunited with their owners following the multiday operation last week, but around 100 have died due to the harsh conditions that they were kept in, the groups said.
This operation is “a sobering reminder of the enormous scale of Viet Nam’s cat meat trade”, Karanvir Kukreja, who leads a campaign against dog and cat meat consumption for the international non-profit Humane World for Animals, said in a statement.
An investigation last week into a spate of pet thefts in Ho Chi Minh City led police to track down the cat meat crime ring and detain nine individuals, according to local media.
Officers discovered 45 cages containing around 400 live cats and four ice-filled foam containers holding approximately 80 dead cats, with 21 live cats recovered at a separate location, according to The Ho Chi Minh City Criminal Police Division.
More than 500 cats were seized, which local media reported was one of Vietnam’s largest cat welfare cases 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.
Millions of animals fall victim to dog and cat thieves in Vietnam who snatch animals off the streets or steal family pets and slaughter them for human consumption, said Mr Kukreja.
Chris Gindelhumer with the non-profit Vietnam Cat Welfare, who is helping care for the rescued animals, said he “saw quite a lot of tears in the last few days”.
“It’s really beautiful to see how many Vietnamese families are coming, looking for their cats,” he said.
“But it’s also heartbreaking because many families were looking for their cats and didn’t find them.”
Many veterinarians and volunteers are working around the clock for the cats, Mr Gindelhumer said.
Consumption of dog and cat meat is legal in Vietnam, although vendors must have permits to validate the animals’ origins.
However, certain cities like Hoi An in central Vietnam are working with global animal welfare groups to stop dog and cat meat consumption in the city.
Not long after South Korea’s 2024 ban on dog meat, Vietnamese officials said the government plans to rebuild parts of the legal system to better protect pets and the rights of their owners.
“This event surprised a lot of people and has raised awareness among many to stop consuming cat meat,” said An Pham, a master’s degree student and avid cat lover in Ho Chi Minh City.