Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, rescued more than 400 live cats during a raid on a suspected trafficking network believed to have collected and stolen cats across southern regions of the country for sale to the cat meat industry. Nine individuals were taken into custody as part of the investigation.
During the operation, officers discovered 45 cages holding approximately 400 live cats in severely crowded conditions. Alongside the cages, police found four coolers filled with ice containing roughly 80 dead cats. At a second location, authorities located an additional 21 live cats. In total, more than 500 cats were seized in the operation.
Local police reported that the suspects confessed to collecting and trapping cats over a period of approximately three years across multiple areas in southern Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh, and An Giang provinces.
Investigators believe the cats were being transported to locations where cat meat is sold for consumption. While eating dog and cat meat is not illegal in Vietnam, regulations exist regarding the sourcing of animals sold for this purpose.
Following the raid, the surviving cats were transferred to a temporary facility where they received food and medical care from veterinarians and volunteers. Some of the animals did not survive the conditions in which they had been held.
The case has drawn significant attention in Vietnam due to its unusual scale. Rather than the seizure of a few individual animals, police uncovered what they suspect was a systematic operation that functioned for years, moving large quantities of cats for meat sales.
