(WARNING: text contains graphic description!)
VSPCA has been great at turning people’s mind around to hlep rather than catch animals for ill use (sea turtles, cobras, parrots) – so now they are rehabilitating the cat eaters by paying them to humanely catch the feral cats for spay/neuter. We pay them only to bring them in, we never release them back to them. The public has begun to help VSPCA prevent terrible cat killings for their meat.
Pradeep Nath (left) with the apprehended cat eaters holding the gunny bags they use for catching the cats.
These are people from a district known as Ongole. They have migrated here two years ago for greener pastures. Their occupation is as labourers but they started to hunt cats and crows for consumption. Our investigation revealed that they were selling the cat’s meat fried for Rs.25 per kg. (USD $.50 for 1/2 lb). We laid a trap for them by asking for cats live without any problems because we wanted to catch them red-handed in to take them to task. They seemed expert and we caught them with seven cats. All these seven cats are perfectly healthy and alive and have joined our cattery. They are actually kittens and to think they wanted to kill them for their meat is just terrible!
Cat eater and stick he used with wire loop to catch cats.
Of course as long the culprits are here (in Visakha) they will be under our scrutiny and we are retraining them now to be cat catchers for good purposes only now. We are submitting a police complaint also.
The modus operandi is that went around dustbins and garbage and chancing upon a cat they catch them with a stick cum wire loop and place the cat in the gunny bag after which the cat is beaten to death by logs. There are other methods also. As soon as the cats are kept in the bag, the bag is swirled around and when the cat is unconscious by this act are dashed to the ground . The dead cat is pierced with a rod and put under a fire after the head is cut off and placed under running water for sometime. It is said the skin is sold for usage. Earlier we got rid of the cat catchers from the I town area and now these from the northern area. They will be closely monitored by us to prevent any untoward incidences. Surprisingly the public are getting much more aware of all this and does not tolerate such cruelties. They now make our work that much easier by informing us.