HANOI -
Thousands of live cats destined "for consumption" have been seized in
Hanoi after being smuggled from China, police said Thursday, but their fate
still hangs in the balance.
Cat meat,
known locally as "little tiger", is an increasingly popular delicacy
in Vietnam, and although officially banned is widely available in specialist
restaurants.
The truck
containing "three tons" of live cats was discovered in the Vietnamese
capital Tuesday, an officer from Dong Da district police station told AFP,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
The truck
driver told police he had purchased the cats in northeastern Quang Ninh
province, which borders China, and that they had all been sourced from the
neighbouring country.
He told
police the cats were destined "for consumption" in Hanoi, without
specifying whether they would be sold to restaurants.
The officer
said that according to Vietnamese laws on smuggled goods, all the cats would
have to be destroyed.
"But
we have not made up our mind what to do with them" because of the large
volume of animals, the policeman said.
Photos on
local media websites showed the smuggled cats crammed into dozens of bamboo
crates stacked on top of one another.
Vietnam has
long banned the consumption of cat meat in an effort to encourage their
ownership and keep the country's rat population under control.
But there
are still dozens of restaurants serving cat in Hanoi and it is rare to see
felines roaming the streets -- most pet-owners keep them indoors or tied up in
fear of thieves.
Such is the
demand from restaurants that cats are sometimes smuggled across the border from
China, Thailand and Laos.
Cat meat is
not widely eaten in China but can be found at some restaurants, particularly in
the south, where it is sometimes considered a speciality.
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