Vietnamese Restaurant Closes After Drowning 300 Cats per Month

Gia Bảo, a Vietnamese restaurant located in Thái Nguyên, northeastern Vietnam, has closed down after admitting to drowning up to 300 cats a month to meet the demand for cat meat in its menu. The owner, Pham Quoc Doanh, revealed that while he knew some of the cats were likely pets, financial struggles left him with what he believed to be “no other choice”.

Doanh justified his actions by explaining the difficulty he faced in supporting his family and the absence of other restaurants in the vicinity offering cat meat. Disturbingly, he personally drowned each cat in a bucket, expressing remorse for the suffering he witnessed during the slaughtering process.

In a press release from the animal welfare organization Human Society International (HSI), Doanh expressed regret, acknowledging that many of the slaughtered cats were likely stolen pets. HSI initiated a program in 2022, offering financial incentives to Vietnamese restaurants willing to cease the sale of cat and dog meat and instead give the animals up for adoption.

As part of this program, Doanh received a one-time grant in exchange for closing Gia Bảo and releasing the animals. He now plans to open a grocery store, signaling a shift towards a more humane business model. “Now that I’ve closed my cat-slaughter business, I feel more peaceful in my mind and feel confident and happy about my future without killing any more animals,” Doanh told Metro.

The issue of cat and dog meat consumption in Vietnam has been a longstanding concern for animal welfare organizations. According to a 2020 report by Four Paws and Change For Animals Foundation, more than 1 million stray and pet cats are killed annually for their meat in Vietnam. Some restaurants source animals directly from cat thieves, slaughtering them on-site, while others operate through wholesalers and slaughterhouses.

Speak Up Tee By Tiny Rescue: Animal Collection

Related Content:

• Medical Practitioners and Teachers Join Fight to End Dog and Cat Meat Trade in Vietnam
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• Cat Meat Trade Going Full Force in Vietnam
• Zhuhai is Now the Second City in China to Ban Dog and Cat Meat
• Hundreds of Cats Rescued From Cat Meat Trade in China

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