Chinese Police has saved over one thousand cats from being killed and sold as mutton or pork.
Following an alert from animal rights activists, the Zhangjiagang police in the eastern city intercepted a truck carrying a clowder of cats.
The cats were reportedly sent to a shelter after the rescue discovered an illegal cat meat trade which prompted additional concerns over food safety.
It is not clear if the cats that were saved were pets or strays.
Reports claim that for six days, activists in Zhangjiagang observed many cats kept in nailed-up wooden boxes in a cemetery.
The incident which generated reactions online, with users condemning the act as cruel and distasteful. Some users also called for tighter inspections of the food industry.
In June, commotion sprung up at a college in the province of Jiangsu, when a student found a rat’s head in his meal. Initially, the school authorities claimed that it was duck meat, before later admitted that the student was right
