Vietnamese police recently found around 2,000 dead cats that were intended for use in traditional medicine, according to state media.

The bodies of the two thousand felines were found in a slaughterhouse in Dong Thap province last week, along with 480 live animals. The cats were in cold storage and believed to be bound for northern Vietnam. Many in the country believe that the extracts from cat bones help cure conditions. The slaughterhouse failed to provide paperwork authorizing the killings and detailing traceability, which is required. 

Four Paws International, an animal welfare organization, estimates that up to a million cats are victims of the illegal wildlife trade in Vietnam every year.

Source: FOUR PAWS International/Youtube

In Vietnam, cats have been used for traditional medicine for a long time. Some people believe that cat bones, particularly their skulls, have medicinal properties that can treat various ailments. The use of cat bones in traditional medicine is based on the belief that they can cure certain diseases such as back pain, rheumatism, and asthma. The cat bones are typically ground into a powder and mixed with other ingredients to make a medicinal paste or tea.

There is little scientific evidence to Support the effectiveness of cat bones in treating human diseases. It’s important to prioritize the ethical treatment of animals and to rely on evidence-based medicine when seeking treatment for health issues.

Read more about the harmful cat and dog meat trade in One Green Planet, check out these articles: Hundreds of Cats Rescued From Cat Meat Trade in China and Dog and Cat Meal Sales Increase After Doctors in Southeast Asia Falsely Claim It Can Ward Off Coronavirus. According to In Defense of Animals, an estimated 2.5 million dogs are raised and killed each year for meat in South Korea. Read more about the dog meat trade in South Korea, including the closing of a notorious market, dogs rescued from South Korea, how these rescue dogs found families in California, and an investigation inside the dog meat trade. 

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