500 cats rescued from Vietnamese meat trade

Vietnamese police in Ho Chi Minh City have dismantled an interregional criminal network that stole cats for the meat trade, rescuing more than 500 animals. The gang allegedly operated for about three years, rounding up cats in the 14-million-person metropolis and neighboring provinces at night or stealing them directly from private properties. Investigators initially discovered 45 cages containing 400 stolen cats at a parking lot, along with 80 frozen animals in styrofoam boxes, and later confiscated over 100 more domestic cats. Nine suspects have been arrested, and the animals were sold by the kilogram to traders, restaurants, and slaughterhouses for cat meat, which is considered a delicacy in Vietnam.