Vietnam police rescue more than 400 cats from animal theft crime ring

Animal welfare groups say the bust highlights the ‘enormous scale’ of the country’s cat meat trade.Police in Vietnam have seized more than 400 stolen cats in a major bust of a feline meat crime ring in Ho Chi Minh City, according to animal welfare groups and local media.More than 40 of the rescued cats were reunited with their owners after the multiday operation last week, but several dozen of those rescued have died due to the harsh conditions they were found in, the groups said.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4South Korea takes dog meat off the menulist 2 of 4Eating pets and ‘Abdul’: The US presidential debate’s oddest momentslist 3 of 4Cieco: A blind dog’s journey from Nabatieh to Beirut, fleeing Israeli bombslist 4 of 4India’s disappearing camels: How a law to save them is wiping them outend of listThis operation is “a sobering reminder of the enormous scale” of Vietnam’s cat meat trade, Karanvir Kukreja, who leads a campaign against dog and cat meat consumption for the international nonprofit Humane World for Animals, said in a statement on Tuesday.An investigation last week into a spate of pet thefts in Ho Chi Minh City led police to track down the cat meat crime ring and detain nine people, according to local media.Officers discovered 45 cages containing about 400 live cats and four ice-filled foam containers holding about 80 dead cats with 21 live cats recovered at a separate location, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Criminal Police Division.Cats seized by police at a facility in Ho Chi Minh City on June 15, 2026 [Handout/Humane World for Animals Viet Nam via AFP]The suspects admitted to trapping and collecting cats across southern Vietnam over the past three years in Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh and An Giang, police said.Millions of animals fall victim to dog and cat thieves in Vietnam who snatch animals off the streets or steal family pets and slaughter them for human consumption, Kukreja said.