Facebook post alleging cats being tortured, killed for fur in China goes viral

SINGAPORE — A Facebook post about the alleged torture and killing of cats in China for their meat and fur has gone viral and been shared more than 130,000 times after the post went up on Dec 1 (Sunday).

The post by the group Anti-Fur Society highlighted a practice where cats — mostly strays, and sometimes pets — are grabbed off the streets by thugs and sold to butchers.

They are then boiled alive to “save their skin”, which is then made into shoes, gloves, purses and other leather goods and accessories, the Anti-Fur Society claimed.

The post included gruesome images of alleged cat pelts laid down on the ground to be sunned, cats being hung off meat hooks for consumption and cat fur being sold as accessories in stores.

In its Facebook post, the Anti-Fur Society also called on the public to donate to its fundraising cause to neuter and spay the cats in order to “end the free supply of cats”.

It ended the post with a link to the website www.People4ChineseAnimals.org.

China has made headlines for alleged animal cruelty in the country, with the annual dog meat festival in the southern city of Yulin the most talked about.

The 10-day annual event — which Yulin residents call the "Lychee and Dog Meat Festival" — has become a lightning rod the world over, with animal rights activists descending on the Chinese city each year to exert pressure on the organisers to stop the festivities.

International news agency Reuters reported that activists have in recent years raided slaughterhouses and intercepted truckloads of dogs in efforts to limit the number of animals killed.

Dog meat is seen as a traditional food in some areas of southern China, where it is believed to be good for the body in warm weather, Reuters reported.

But animal protection group Humane Society International had previously said in a statement that the festival was “manufactured” by the dog meat traders and that dog meat was not part of mainstream food culture in China.