Fighting Over Cats in Southern China
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Island Sun
April 2009

I found your message on the internet about the Chinese feline meat trade. As I am living in that southern city of China, where this appalling murder is happening, I want to thank you for bringing up this issue and let more people know the truth and help save our loving cats.

These cats are different with other animals, as they are fed by people who care for them, many of them senior citizens. The cats are treated as friends and family members. These cats' caretakers are fighting with the criminals now in China. Sadly they are not strong enough because of a lack of laws to protect pets. On March 22, some senior citizens were beaten and injured by the cats thieves just because they wanted their cats back!

So please do not make any comments against those who care for cats. Do not support those criminals stealing cats.

The killers torture the cats and dogs as much as they can before they die, in the belief that the more intense the torturing, the more tasty the flesh. I just cannot imagine why these evil things came to exist in our society and how these thieves still call themselves human beings.

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Also, please do not be misled by thinking this cruelty has any basis in culture. This is only the excuse of the killers. The real Chinese culture never ever allowed cruelty to animals - not Daoism, neither Confucius, which are of importance to traditional Chinese culture.

As I am in my mid thirties, I have witnessed how things are getting worse during the last decade. In the past, people had less material comforts, but they would not think of killing cats for food. Yes, people are getting more rich especially here in the southern coastal cities, due to the rapid economic development. However the bad behaviors and cruelty on animals are happening more frequently and seriously. This situation is unprecedented.

Those animals rights supporters, including myself, are not really middle-class, but employees from different walks of life, and among these groups are many senior people, trying very hard to fight against the cruelty. But those cats meat eaters, in the opposite, are not the poor. Many of them are even well-off government officials who indulge their disgusting appetites. This explains why all these cats and many wild animals too are also stolen and shipped to Guangzhou, where the economy developed rapidly due to enormous export business, yet the people's spiritual development is far more behind. And in other cities, killing cats for food is not common.

What we urgently and desperately need is the legislation of animals welfare in China. To realize this goal, it is necessary to have constant pressure from other governments and people from all around the globe, so this pressure must be kept up, from individuals and charities etc. I really appreciate your kind attention and your publishing of the facts.

For images of brutalities against cats, visit our image gallery.


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