Vietnam police arrest 12 over alleged theft of 2,700 cats

Vietnamese police have arrested 12 men accused of stealing and trafficking about 2,700 cats in Ho Chi Minh City, where investigators say the animals were taken from residential neighborhoods for sale into the meat trade.

The men admitted to stealing and trafficking the cats, police said. Criminal proceedings began on Sunday, according to CBS News, although it was not clear when the suspects were detained. Police are investigating the men on allegations of property theft.

The suspects traveled by motorbike in small groups and searched neighborhoods for cats, police allege. The state-owned Tuoi Tre newspaper reported that they operated mainly between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. According to the BBC, state media reported that the groups used pieces of fish as bait and set traps outside homes where they knew cats were kept. Each group was estimated to have taken four to 10 cats a night.

Police said they seized 50 live cats on July 8, along with 55 traps, two scales and two fur-removal machines. The BBC reported that officers also confiscated 14 bags, 13 mobile phones, seven motorbikes and 6.7 million Vietnamese dong ($257). Thirteen of the 50 cats have been returned to their owners; the rest are being cared for at the HavePaws animal welfare center, the BBC reported.

Eating dog and cat meat is legal in Vietnam, and restaurants openly advertise it. Vendors must have documentation showing where the animals came from. CBS News reported that stolen cats can fetch at least 70,000 dong ($2.70) per kilogram when sold to restaurants.

The arrests follow other investigations in Ho Chi Minh City. CBS News reported that police arrested 18 people earlier this year in connection with two separate suspected cat-stealing rings. In June, authorities rescued more than 400 cats in a bust of another alleged ring. At least 40 were reunited with their owners, while several died because of the conditions in which they were found, animal welfare groups said.

“It was quite an overwhelming sight to see so many cats seized from just a single transport in Vietnam’s illicit cat meat trade,” Phuong Tham, country director for Humane World for Animals Viet Nam, said in a statement about the June rescue, according to CBS News. “The sad truth about this trade is that thousands of cats every month are being stolen, trafficked and slaughtered for meat across the country.”

Humane World for Animals estimates that about five million dogs and one million cats are captured, stolen, trafficked and slaughtered for meat in Vietnam each year, the BBC reported. A 2023 survey commissioned by the group found that 71% of respondents backed a ban on the consumption and trade of cat meat.