Moment truck crammed with FIVE HUNDRED cats was stopped en route to restaurants in China
By David Baker
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These pictures show the disturbing moment a truck crammed with 500 cats was stopped during a routine check - as it made its way to restaurants across China.
The neglected and hungry cats were piled together in cages as the truck seemingly made its way to food outlets to sell the pets as meat.
Luckily, the animals, some of which had been cruelly stuffed in bags, were rescued thanks to vehicle checks in Xuzhou, in the eastern province of Jiangsu.
Disturbing: When the cats were found some had been struggling to breathe through small holes in burlap sacks
Caged animals: Many of the 500 cats were crammed together in tiny cages as they made the trip in the back of the truck across China
Having pulled over the truck in what they assumed was a run of the mill stop, officers were shocked to find the horrific haul.
Officer Sun Hai, who helped rescue the terrified felines along with a colleague, said: 'The driver said it was a full load of rabbit.
'But after we instructed him to uncover the load we were shocked to find a full load of living cats.'
Intercepted: The felines were rescued thanks to routine vehicle checks, before they were sold as food
Helping hand: Volunteers rushed to give the cats water, before they were transferred to an animal centre for treatment
Horrifying: Some of the cats had been stuffed into bags with barely enough room to breathe
Following the find the pair informed volunteers from a local animal protection centre who quickly arrived on the scene.
They cut open the bags with keys and knives to save the animals from suffocation and also bought water and food.
It is believed that the owner of the load refused to reveal where the cats had come from and it even took seven hours of negotiations to get him to hand them over to rescue teams.
The cats have now been transferred to an animal rescue centre at Tangzhang County, where they are being treated.
As a nation of pet lovers Brits have long been condemning the treatment of animals in China, where cats and dogs are believed to be widely sold as food.
Previously cats and dogs have be seen squeezed inside cages with no room to move, many of them diseased, in a live animal market in Nanhai, China.
Lucky escape: Fortunately the haul of cats are now being cared for at an animal centre
The Three Birds Market, where cats live in small metal baskets, is deemed to be operating as a poultry market in southern China
Dog meat is also thought to be a staple food in this area of China and people believe it is the best meat to keep them warm during winter.
Replies
So sad and it just shows the level of work left to be done where are these peoples compassion. This is why I won't eat meat nearly all animals used for meat are not looked after they are but a pound sign and nothing else. Seeing things like this makes me so impatient for change as it's so sad and cruel. What must they all go through awful... :(
This is deplorable. Unconscienable....
When I lived in Maine a new Chinese resaturant moved into my neighborhood about four buildings away from the the condo complex I lived in. Many of the people who lived in these condos had cats because it was the only pets allowed. Most of them were outdoor cats because nobody liked the smell of litter boxes in their condo. Within a month of the restaurant moving into the neighborhood at least 16 of my neighbors had missing cats....A restaurant employee was prowling the neighborhood after midnight and rounding up all the cats that were out in the neighborhood. Thankfully one of my neighbors happened to hear his cat squalling and squeeling and looked out the window as a guy was trying to shove it into a sack. He made a quick call to the police and went out with his camcorder and a flashlight and a baseball bat and snuck up on the employee and flashed his spotlight on the guy while the guy was struggling with his cat trying to shove the cat into the burlap bag...and then he hollered at the guy to drop the cat.....and went after him with a baseball bat! Luckily the cop was just entering the complex and saw the employee running behind the building with two burlap bags slung over his shoulder, and caught him red handed....I was so sad because my 9 year old tiger cat had been one of the victims.....The restaurant was inspected and shut down. They had dead cats in a cooler and dogmeat in the freezer.....euuuu. And before I figured out where our cats were going I used to order the food delivered....I used to think the texture of the meat was a bit strange but the chix and shrimp dinners were awesome. Hope to hell it was not catmeat but I bet it was....I had nightmares for a long time....I worried that I had eaten my cat...it was so awful. I absolutely love cats. After that we all kept our cats in....It had been a nightmare.
Bloody Chinese that are involved...they need to be put in cages
its not the "chinese" who did this, it was SOME bad people. dont condem a whole nation of people for the deplorable actions of a few.