The authorities in Chengdu, Sichuan Province raided a slaughterhouse which killed cats and sold them as rabbit meat, media reported.
据媒体报道,四川省成都市有关部门日前突袭了一家杀猫冒充兔肉出售的屠宰场。
The discovery was made on November 22 when the police found nearly 1 ton of live and frozen domestic cats after raiding three separate sites used as a storage space, an icehouse and a slaughterhouse, the Chengdu Business Daily reported.
据《成都商报》报道,这一发现是在11月22日,当时警方突袭了被分别当做贮藏室、冷藏室和屠宰场的三处地方,发现了近一吨鲜活和冷冻的家猫。
When the slaughterhouse in the town of Shunjiang was raided, several domestic cats were floating in the blood-stained water used for drowning them, with several more either inside a machine to remove their fur or inside a sack awaiting slaughter, according to the report.
据报道,当警方突袭位于顺江的这一屠宰场时,几只家猫正漂浮在用于溺死它们的血水中,还有几只猫躺在脱毛机里去毛、装在麻袋里等待被宰杀。
"This is not illegal. What's wrong with me buying and selling cats?" Huang Pingfu, the ringleader said when asked if the cats were sold as rabbit meat to butchers and restaurants.
当被问到是否将猫肉当成兔肉卖给屠夫和餐馆时,头目黄平富说道:“这又不违法。我买猫卖猫有什么错?”
Huang, who would kill over 100 cats a day for a daily profit of around 3,000 yuan ($435), claimed he had been trafficking cats for more than 20 years and had turned it into a lucrative business.
黄平富每天杀死的小猫超过100只,日盈利大约3000元(约435美元)。他表示自己已经贩卖猫超过20年,并将其变成了一个有利可图的生意。
Most of the cat carcasses, sold for 20 yuan per kilogram, were bought by meat wholesalers or butchers and restaurants as rabbit. Other cats that were kept alive were shipped in 200-cat batches to South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region at a wholesale price of 32 yuan per cat.
猫肉每公斤售价20元,其中大多数都被当做兔肉卖给了肉类批发商和饭店。其他活着的猫则以200只一批运往了广西,批发价为每只32元。
The live cats rescued from the sites have been transferred to local animal protection organizations and shelters.
据悉,从现场救出的活猫已经被送到了当地动物保护组织和收容所。