The owner of a cat meat restaurant known for slaughtering up to 300 cats a month in the northern province of Thai Nguyen has apologized and permanently closed his business.
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A cat behind a fence. Photo illustration by Freepik |
Pham Quoc Doanh, the restaurant’s 37-year-old owner, expressed deep remorse for his actions, acknowledging that many of the cats were stolen pets, as he said. Metro.
“But I needed the money,” he admitted, adding that he had served other dishes in his restaurant before, but they had not brought in as much profit as meat from cat.
The method of slaughter involved drowning each cat individually and holding it to the ground with a stick, a practice that Doanh now deeply regrets.
His feelings of guilt motivated him to contact the Human Society International (HSI), which offers financial incentives to restaurants that stop selling cat and dog meat. With their help, he closed his business completely last December.
Doanh now plans to open a grocery store, a decision supported and facilitated by HSI. He said he felt more at peace and happy about not killing animals in the future, according to Business Insider.
HSI’s initiative also led to the closure of two dog meat restaurants in Thai Nguyen, signaling a broader movement against the consumption of cat and dog meat in Vietnam.
Organizations like Four Paws and Change For Animals Foundation highlight the harsh reality that more than a million stray and pet cats are killed each year in Vietnam for their meat. Some restaurants even buy animals from cat thieves, as Dr. Katherine Polak, veterinarian and head of stray animal care at Four Paws in Southeast Asia, points out.
