After photos landed on the internet of cats locked in cages at the back of a store in Tianjin (northern China), local police, neighbourhood residents and animal welfare activists descended on the premises, eventually rescuing all of the 800 plus feline inmates, which would otherwise have ended up on eatery dinner tables.
The shop’s owner, who, according to the China Daily, is only licensed to sell birds, fish, worms and flowers (not that it matters, as there are no laws prohibiting the trade in felis catus) is believed to have been trafficking cats for the past six months. As he was unable to provide any receipts to prove where he purchased any of them from, it’s assumed they were a mixture of strays and pets stolen from their owners. Such thefts, believes He Yong, a representative of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, are merely the “tip of the iceberg”. I agree with He.
NB: Photo courtesy of http://catmacros.wordpress.com – a cat-themed blog belonging to my chum Gunnhild Engebretsen (she’s Norwegian).
Jeg snakker bare litt Norsk.*
Hadet bra!
‘Gunny’
* Trans. A viking ate my chocolate snack bar.
p.s. I just found the tag. Good work, Agent Bonnett.