Thailand’s New Cat Smuggling Trade
We reported recently that Thai authorities were struggling with their battle of stopping the dog smuggling trade whereby poor innocent dogs were being smuggled accross the border to Vietnam and sold for meat.
It was discovered yesterday by Bangkok’s Pet Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) that between 100-200 cats were seized in the Nakon Phanom area on their way to Vietnam to also be used in the meat trade business.
Chaninat and Leeds specializes in international criminal cases in Thailand
Whilst the trade in cat meat is not as common as dog meat and is much smaller, PAWS suspect that cat smuggling has been ongoing for a while. However this is the first reported seizure of cats headed towards Vietnam by the Thai government. Whilst eating or abusing cats and dogs is not per se illegal in Thailand, transportation of them over international borders is.
The Soi Dogs Foundation is working hard in conjunction with Livestock Officials at the Nakhon Phanom quarantine stations, and luckily these cats were caught just in time. PAWS have offered a safe sanctury to the cats who need help.
Flickr credit: Moyan_Brenn
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