More than 2,500 cats vanished from homes in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City. Here's what happened to them

The Vietnamese police have arrested a dozen men for allegedly stealing and selling more than 2,500 cats in Ho Chi Minh City. Cat traps, fur removal machines, and measuring scales were some of the items confiscated during the investigation. The men are accused of taking the pets to be slaughtered for food. It remains unclear when the arrests exactly took place.

How were the cats trapped?

Police in Ho Chi Minh City said the accused roamed through residential neighborhoods in small groups at night to steal the cats. They allegedly used pieces of fish as bait, and placed traps outside houses where they knew cats were present, according to the state media.


Each of the groups stole an average of four to 10 cats a night, the police said. The 12 suspects were taken for questioning, with cops saying they confessed to stealing around 2,700 cats "of various types."

When was the ring discovered?

Action against the network was first taken in July, when the police said they had seized 50 cats, two weighing scales, 55 cat traps, 14 bags, over a dozen mobile phones, seven motorbikes, two fur-removing machines, and 6.7 million Vietnamese dong (nearly $260).

Of those 50 cats, 13 have been returned to their owners, while the rest are being kept at an animal welfare centre, the BBC reported.

Police rescued 400 cats in June

In June, more than 400 cats set to be slaughtered were rescued after officials busted another pet theft racket, according to the animal welfare group Humane World for Animals."It was quite an overwhelming sight to see so many cats seized from just a single transport in Vietnam's illicit cat meat trade," the organization's Vietnam country director Phuong Tham had said in a statement at the time.

Media reports suggest that stolen cats can be sold to restaurants for at least 70,000 dong ($2.70) per kilogram.

Survey finds attitudes are changing

Humane World for Animals says that an estimated five million dogs and a million cats are captured, stolen, trafficked, and slaughtered for meat in Vietnam each year. Consumption of dog and cat meat is legal in the country, and eateries openly advertise it on their menus. But vendors are required to obtain certificates that show the origin of the animals.

Though the consumption of dog and cat meat is more common in Vietnam than many other countries, the welfare group says that attitudes are shifting. A 2023 survey commissioned by Humane World for Animals found that 71 percent citizens backed a ban on the consumption and trading of cat meat.