Hong Kong raids shop suspected of selling cat and puppy meat — 70 yrs right after trade was banned | Information
Information
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Authorities in Hong Kong have raided a shop suspected of offering pet and cat meat as food stuff – more than 70 years after the trade was outlawed.
Officers seized “suspected samples of puppy or cat flesh” at a store in the Yau Ma Tei district for the duration of a “joint blitz operation” by the city’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Food stuff and Environmental Hygiene Office on Thursday night.
The AFCD explained it had carried out the raid immediately after receiving stories that the meats were being on sale in Yau Ma Tei – a densely populated industrial and household district in the Kowloon area – and that it experienced organized screening of the seized samples.
It explained it was also investigating no matter whether the shop was trading fresh new meat with out a license.
“Prosecution will be instituted really should it be tested,” the AFCD stated in a statement.
Ingesting puppy and cat meat has been prohibited in Hong Kong given that 1950 less than the semi-autonomous Chinese city’s laws, and the news has prompted both equally lawmakers and animal welfare advocates to call for larger enforcement initiatives.
Lawmaker Gary Chan in a Fb write-up explained the sale of cat and doggy meat as “unacceptable.”
“Hong Kong has outlawed the taking in of cat and doggy meat for above 70 years,” the legislator stated. “The incident highlights that the frequency of place checks by legislation enforcement businesses has not been plenty of.”
The raid by the govt companies adopted regional media reports alleging the meats could be observed on sale frozen for about $12 a catty (a area device equivalent to about 1.3 kilos) – very similar to the price tag of cooked beef.
Neighborhood rights team Culture for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals stated on Friday it “strongly condemns” the offering of pet dog and cat meat for foods.
It urged the community to right away contact the police and other pertinent authorities if they suspect it is on sale.
Hong Kong’s Dogs and Cats Restrictions stipulates that “no particular person shall slaughter any dog or cat for use as meals whether or not for mankind or normally, and no individual shall market or use or permit the sale or use of the flesh of puppies and cats for food items.”
Offenders are liable on conviction to a optimum wonderful of $640 and six months’ imprisonment.
An estimated 30 million canines and 10 million cats globally are slaughtered each and every 12 months for human usage, in accordance to Humane Culture International. Usage of the animals in parts of Asia are fueled by illegal trade and slaughter.