Water-boiled Cat, Anyone?
This post was published 2 years 3 months 19 days ago and its content may not be valid anymore.According to Weird Asia News, it has become common practice that restaurants in Guangdong, China put house cats on the menu.
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Recently some restaurants in Guangdong, China, have been promoting a popular dish called “water boiled live cat”.
The way the restaurants kill the cats is very cruel and inhumane. One of the chefs even says “the more torture the cats receive, the better they taste.”
They use a bat and beat the cats until they pass out; then throw them into hot water and boil them alive, then de-skin and cook them again.
Okay, looking at this from the outside – is this such a big deal? There seems to be a lot of uproar on the old internets about this. I figure it’s probably because of the way in which the cats are killed. Okay, I that’s exactly why people are making noise, but could it possibly be because it’s not something we’re totally used to? People eat fast food every single day and don’t give a second to think about how that meat in their burger got there. People eat chicken, people eat beef, aside from the manner in which the cats are killed, is this such a big deal?
Interesting. So you are implying that dog fighting would be justified as long as we eat the dead?
wow. good set of comments over on WAN.
it s funny though as most will react to this in a negative manner but in the ol USA people could give a “cats” ass about how their food is prepped before eating it up. I mean one comment even mentioned lobster. We love to look at them in the tank, order your meal knowing one shall be picked and then… BOILED! and this is without “knockin” em out first.
We have all seen the caged chickens, the cows fed cows etc etc.. yet we love our meats.
owell. Cat for everyone!
Yes it is a huge difference, they are killing a living breathing animal in a way that is not only inhumane and degrading, but you kill it excercising maximum cruelty. We kill cows, chicken, pigs and many other animals, we do it for food and not for the pleasure of inflicting pain and death, but to survive, all those animals are killed humanely without additional torture. The bigger issue is of course the fact that cats are considered domesticated animals and are considered by many people as friends of the humans. I find it disturbing that you question this issue. We have been using cats for thousands of years as helpers and protectors (rat spreaded diseases anyone ?) and what happens now ? They are degraded to the level of meat factory and not only that, they are also slaughtered in the worst possible way.
If I was chinese I would be ashamed to be human right now.
Lobster should not be equated with mammals. One has an insect brain and is closely related to cockroaches, the other has a more evolved mammalian brain similar to our own.
Contrary to your statement, some people in the ol USA actually are aware and often concerned with how meat is raised and prepared.
People usually don’t care how animals they consider ugly or dangerous are killed.
The cuteness of an animal is directly proportional to the zealousness of its defenders.
Read “The animal contract” from Desmond Morris, it’s an enlightened book.
How can you say Justin that one animal is better than the other to kill? Thats very narrow minded.
I agree Animals should be humanely killed, but once you decide to kill someone… where do you draw the line? Anybody who eats meat should not be surprise by the grossness of the procedure… that said… I would like to beat that chef unconscious and then throw him in the boiling pot… I won’t eat him though.
If anybody has seen video of how cows and chickens (especially) are slaughtered then they should realize that there isn’t much difference in the cruelty level to this.
“Pinchy would have wanted it this way” – Homer Simpson
What about crabs, they’re boiled alive. Not even knocked unconscious. And no one gives a flying fuck. So very hypocritical to raise crap about cats. No more crab or tortured animals for any one!
I’ll look for that book, Javier. Although I for one certainly think that large cats, for example, are both beautiful AND dangerous. I think Justin makes a good point about the relative stupidity of a lobster to a cat. Same thing, really, with the crab.
Even given the horrible conditions that chickens face (cows have it slightly better), no one is beating them (or lobsters, or crabs) unconscious prior to killing them.
Nearly all animal cruelty laws apply to cats and dogs, but rather than react by condemning China, perhaps we ought to all re-consider how poorly animals are treated in the western world.
its not only that lobsters are more simple, but its that they dont necessarily feel ‘pain’ so its not cruel at all. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainManagement/story?id=722163&page=1 and http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/14/tech/main673989.shtml so you cant use that argument to talk about being hypocritical.
“no one is beating them … unconscious prior to killing them.”
Um, how exactly do you think Pigs and Cows are prepared in slaughterhouses? Perhaps you should read this, and then google related information:
http://www.cowsarecool.com/faq.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humane_Slaughter_Act#Criticism of the HMSLA
http://www.factoryfarming.com/
As a person who grew up in a U.S. farming community, I have to take issue with the hypocrisy of U.S. citizens complaining about this issue. This exact same thing is happening on our factory farms and in our slaughterhouses.
As for me, I eat hunted game (one shot, and the animal is dead, having never suffered) or else meat raised by local, independent growers (who generally keep their animals in larger pens / pastures and dispatch animals one at a time, with a single shot of a .22 rifle).
It just seems to me that it’s different cultures so people will be acting somewhat irrationally. In some places they won’t touch a cow whereas here in the west we will, every day. Just because we’re not used to cat consumption it’s a big deal?
So, since I don’t eat meat, can I complain about this?
It’s kinda bad to excuse the amount of pain given by saying that it makes the cat taste better. It’s as if the cat is prepared in this way because it is cruel, rather than because it is a cultural dish or an important food item. The practice is detestable.
As for American slaughterhouse conditions, factory-style feedlots and corporate slaughterhouses don’t only cause unnecessary suffering for the animals processed, but they endanger humans with their filthy practices by risking contamination of meat with fecal materials from animals and by bringing sick cattle to the slaughterhouses among other things. Reform is needed here, but that does not make what China does acceptable.
How the hell do you think the cat would die in the wild? Animals don’t die of old age, they die because something bigger, meaner, scarier, and with more teeth hunts it down, beats it up, and takes it’s time eating it. the animal, often does not die from injuries sustained during the hunt, but instead can bleed out over hours while being consumed, or drown, or dragged. Even if an animal escapes, bacteria, and other organisms can get into the wounds and fester, eventually killing the animal over a very long painful time until it is killed. Life is not humane.
Lets eat children, it would solve a bunch of problems china. And I’m not talking about
born children, lets cook the abortions, do you know how many abortions are performed in the world, I think it should be against the law to have an abortion until the fetus is at lest 5 months old. Think about all that food mm mm, and if we are lucky, we could hook up all poor mothers or exmothers to milking machines and give their lives meaning.
Since I’m not American, I can’t discuss with you the problems on US farms, but I would like to mention that there are some countries in which it actually works and the animals don’t suffer. In European Union there are laws against inhumane treatment of animals, and the standards for farm animal welfare are based on the five freedoms developed by the British Farm Animal Welfare Council in 1979, revised in 1993:
1. Freedom from hunger and thirst
2. Freedom from discomfort
3. Freedom from pain
4. Freedom to express normal behaviour
5. Freedom from fear and distress
Unfortunately it’s not perfect and especially the new (2007) member states will be undergoing major changes and a phase of adjustments; however, the enforcement of standards is very strict and the punishment is an export ban which has serious consequences for the economy of the culprit.
I found an interesting page (oddly enough, Canadian, not EU)
http://cfhs.ca/farm/international_legislation/
but direct EU resources can be obtained here:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/lif/ind/en_analytical_index_15.html
For me as a biologist it is very disturbing to read about this issue, and I’m affraid I usually avoid the topic as not to get overly emotional with the problem, because on one hand I like eating meat on the other I have to live with the problem of animals dying for me to have a ham sandwich.
okay okay okay… to those that say “how can you say killing one animal is worse than another??” Obviously there are different degrees to animals. You would of course agree that killing a human and killing a deer are on different levels correct? The reason is because we are aware of ourselves and our surroundings and are rational creatures. We are all animals on this world, but different species live differently. Why should you worry about the death of an animal that never feared death to begin with? That never contemplated it’s own existence. Killing a cat and killing a lobster are different. A pet like a cat shows personality, it shows care, and most importantly often it shows intelligence. A lobster does not. If we follow your line of logic, are you saying that killing an ant and killing a dog are on the same level as well?
I’m a meat eater and i can’t justify beating an animal to death with bats to eat it unless in diar need of food (think man vs wild).
@Matt Rogan
“but to survive, all those animals are killed humanely without additional torture.”
Are you serious? That’s the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard… And it’s not right to say Americans don’t care about how the animals they eat are killed. I might not have room to talk, since I don’t eat meat, but that’s the exact reason. I don’t eat meat because of the cruel way the animals are treated before they are killed, and during the killing process.
Animals were put here for us to eat (debate that if you will).
To eat them, we sort of have to kill them, give or take a few exceptions.
I draw the line where torture takes place, though.
If we want to kill a cat in humane way, we need a three step program:
1. Convince the general public that the cats are making weapons of mass destruction
2. Convince the general public that the cats are able to launch their weapons any moment now.
3. Start a war against cats.
Now what would be more humane way to kill a cat than good ol’ M16?
Ofc, we wouldnt want to kill ALL the cats of course, because some cats that may hold information about their leaders can be taken to prison without any animal rights.
Matter of perspective…
“the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it’s animals are treated.” – Gandhi.
And with the vegans, why does it matter if you don’t eat any meat? Animals are still killed whether you eat them or not so why not eat them? They’re not going to kill any more or less animals if you chose not to eat them.
@justin
sorry, can’t accept that lobsters closeley related to cockroaches jarg mate.
closer to cockroaches than they are to mamals tho.
Erm, is this shit even real or just an urban legend? People get wangsty just because it’s China and it’s cats.
@sickleclowns
at the level Arthropod (Phylum), you will see that cockroaches are insects (Class Hexapoda) and lobsters are decapod crustaceans (Class Crustacea); they are two groups in the same phylum
@ pistache268
There are images with the link – I was going to include one with the post, in fact I did, but Dan removed it. On youtube I found videos of them killing the cats to eat, and I know it’s way too graphic so I’m not sharing it.
Cats probbably taste like chicken!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!