from The Daily Telegraph (UK)

Hundreds of cats rescued from being eaten in China

Animal rights activists in Shanghai have rescued 300 cats from a dealer who was planning to sell the allegedly stolen pets to restaurants in southern China.

Animal activists in Shanghai rescued 300 cats packed into 22 bamboo crates from a dealer who had bought the allegedly stolen pets for sale to restaurants in southern China.

The activists, acting on a tip-off from a cat lover, found 22 bamboo cages full of cats in a yard, from where they were to be shipped to Guangdong province, Lai Xiaoyu, 34, who was one of those involved in Friday night's rescue, told the AFP news agency that most of the animals have been returned to their owners, but three cats died and some had broken legs.

"They had clearly been abused," he said. "They were squeezed into such small cages. Some of the cages contained more than 20 cats. Two of these cats had been dead for a while when we found them. "The cats were going to be delivered to Guangdong to go into a local soup called 'Tiger vs. Dragon' which is made with snake and cat." Restaurants pay about 50 yuan (£5) a cat, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported.

More than 50 pet owners came looking for their lost cats on Friday night after the activists sent out a message on an internet forum. Some cats were adopted by animal lovers and others were released in areas where volunteers leave food for strays.

Police detained the cat dealer, Yang Baoguo, after he fought dozens of animal lovers who descended on the freight yard to break into his cages, the newspaper said. The dealer was released after a few hours without charge because animal protection laws are non-existent in China, the report said.

"There is no law in China saying cats cannot be eaten," police officer Ma Yong was quoted as saying. "Cats are not a protected animal."

Mr Yang, who has traded cats for a decade, bought the animals from so-called hunters who trapped the cats in residential areas at night, the report alleged.

Police could not charge him with possessing stolen property because, unlike dogs, a licence is not required for owning a cat in Shanghai, making ownership impossible to prove, the report said.

Eating cat meat is a tradition in many parts of China, especially in southern regions, where some restaurants specialise in preparing the dishes.

In Nanjing's north-western suburb of Pukuo, a hut stands in a field of rubbish. The only clue to what goes on there is the pile of empty wooden crates at the back and the steel bars over the windows. Inside, there are crates full of cats, waiting to be shipped to the southern province of Guangdong, where they will feed a growing curiosity about the taste of cat meat.

At the back of the shack, a man sitting on a makeshift bed was warming himself next to a charcoal brazier.

"We collect 40 to 50 cats a day here," he said. "We ship them out when we have 100. We make around eight mao (8p) on each cat, after our costs. We buy them for 10 renminbi (£1) and sell them for not much more."

Each night, a train loaded with thousands of cats in crates heads south from a freight depot in Nanjing.

Chen Shi, 20, a mechanic working in a neighbouring shop, said the depot had been in operation for three or four years. "The cats scream all night," he said. "Residents called the police but there's nothing illegal about it, so they couldn't do anything."

The fondness for eating dogs in northern China is well known, but cats are also prized in the country's south. One of the most famous Cantonese dishes is "Tiger and Dragon locked in Battle", in which the flavours of cat and snake vie for attention.

The Cantonese appetite has already made cats scarce and expensive in Guangdong itself, forcing restaurants to look elsewhere for a steady supply. Nanjing, with its excellent transport links and central position in China, has emerged as the hub of cat trading.

"There has definitely been an increase. There are far fewer cats around," said Chen Nanyan, 27, an activist with the Ping-An-A-Fu animal shelter..

"Because of the bad economy, more and more people have turned to cat-snatching. You don't need to be skilled – you just bait a box with some meat and wait.

"It happens all over Nanjing. There is nothing illegal about taking cats. If you try and call the police, they will not help you. You can take cats with collars without any problems."

She and other volunteers carry out raids on the cat markets, smashing boxes and liberating the animals when they can. Ha Wenjing, Nanjing's leading animal rights activist, said the fascination with cat meat was down to its reputed, but vague, medicinal value.

"Actually the meat is not so delicious. And the chefs cook it for fun, to try to see if they can make it taste nice," she said. "Curiosity killed the cat, as it were.

"The thing I am worried about is if the government catches on and turns this into an industry in order to make money. That is what happened with dog meat, and now you can find dog farms."

Thanks to Tim Hurrell for these articles.