Cat and dog meat: Hong Kong shop raided, 70 years after trade was banned
CNN
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Authorities in Hong Kong have raided a shop suspected of offering pet dog and cat meat as food items – far more than 70 several years after the trade was outlawed.
Officers seized “suspected samples of doggy or cat flesh” at a shop in the Yau Ma Tei district during a “joint blitz operation” by the city’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Division and the Meals and Environmental Cleanliness Department on Thursday evening.
The AFCD stated it had carried out the raid after acquiring reports that the meats ended up on sale in Yau Ma Tei – a densely populated industrial and residential district in the Kowloon spot – and that it had arranged testing of the seized samples.
It stated it was also investigating whether or not the shop was investing contemporary meat with no a license.
“Prosecution will be instituted should it be established,” the AFCD claimed in a assertion.
Feeding on doggy and cat meat has been prohibited in Hong Kong due to the fact 1950 less than the semi-autonomous Chinese city’s legal guidelines, and the information has prompted equally lawmakers and animal welfare advocates to connect with for better enforcement attempts.
Lawmaker Gary Chan in a Fb submit described the sale of cat and pet meat as “unacceptable.”
“Hong Kong has outlawed the having of cat and puppy meat for in excess of 70 a long time,” the legislator claimed. “The incident highlights that the frequency of spot checks by law enforcement businesses has not been more than enough.”
The raid by the government organizations followed nearby media stories alleging the meats could be discovered on sale frozen for about $12 a catty (a regional device equivalent to about 1.3 lbs .) – identical to the cost of cooked beef.
Regional rights group Culture for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reported on Friday it “strongly condemns” the marketing of pet dog and cat meat for food.
It urged the general public to immediately call the police and other applicable authorities if they suspect it is on sale.
Hong Kong’s Canines and Cats Rules stipulates that “no man or woman shall slaughter any dog or cat for use as food stuff whether or not for mankind or in any other case, and no man or woman shall provide or use or allow the sale or use of the flesh of dogs and cats for food.”
Offenders are liable on conviction to a most fantastic of $640 and 6 months’ imprisonment.
An estimated 30 million puppies and 10 million cats globally are slaughtered each individual yr for human intake, in accordance to Humane Society Worldwide. Use of the animals in components of Asia are fueled by unlawful trade and slaughter.
