China's animal lovers fight illegal cat meat trade

While local law prohibits the consumption of cats, violators are fined on food safety grounds rather than punished for animal cruelty. — AFP

SUZHOU (AFP): When Han Jiali's beloved cat Dabai was taken from her Shanghai home last year, she embarked on a hunt for her pet that took her deep into the bowels of China's underground feline meat trade.

Most people in China do not eat cat meat, but an estimated four million furry friends are slaughtered for food each year in an illegal market that includes areas of Guangdong province, neighbouring Guangxi and beyond, according to Humane Society International.