"I Felt Sorry": Vietnamese Eatery Owner Who Killed 300 Cats A Month For Cat Soup Shuts Shop
A Vietnamese restaurant that was reportedly killing up to 300 cats a month for a cat soup recipe has been shut down. The 37-year-old owner, Pham Quoc Doanh, decided to close the establishment, expressing moral concerns about the practice.
The restaurant is shutting
The Humane Society International (HSI) reported that Pham Quoc Doanh removed the advertisement for the cat soup recipe, known as "th?t m¨¨o" (cat meat), from his Gia B?o restaurant in Th¨¢i Nguy¨ºn in early December. After removing the sign, approximately 20 cats and kittens, captured for consumption, were saved and made available for adoption.
Doanh told news agencies that he was pushed into the cat meat market because he wanted to make ends meet and he never wanted to sell cat meat. Reports by the Metro said cat meat is a relatively popular dish in Vietnam.
"Before selling cat meat at this restaurant I served other normal food and drinks. However, the income was not enough to cover the living cost of my family. It was then I tried selling cat meat since there was no other available restaurant serving this in the area," Doanh, who is a father of two children, said.
?According to the Humane Society International, Vietnam sees the killing of about a million cats each year, including stolen pets and strays, for meat. The 37-year-old restaurant owner admitted to drowning the cats by holding them with a stick in a bucket of water.? ? ? ??
"I felt sorry for them when I saw them suffering during slaughtering. It was all about money since I had to make money for my whole family," he said.
Why??
The restaurant owner received a one-time grant from the organisation to close his diner and set up a grocery shop instead. "For a while now I have felt a genuine desire to leave the cruel cat meat business and switch to something else as soon as possible. When I think of all the thousands of cats I've slaughtered and served up here over the years, it's upsetting. Cat theft is so common in Vietnam that I know many of the cats sold here were someone's loved family companion, and I feel very sorry about that," he said, adding that he is thankful that he is no longer a part of this "brutal and crime-fueled trade".
The cats taken from Doanh¡¯s custody were taken to the Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry to be vaccinated against rabies before being adopted.
"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. I will supply a lot of products like drinks, tobacco, sweets, dry food like instant noodles, and make a living for my family that way instead," he told the outlet.
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