Police rescue hundreds of cats from being eaten in Vietnam with bust of major animal theft ring

HANOI (AP) — Police in Vietnam seized more than 400 cats in a major bust of a cat meat crime ring in Ho Chi Minh City, according to animal welfare groups and local media reports.More than 40 of the rescued cats were reunited with their owners following the multiday operation last week, but around 100 have died due to the harsh conditions that they were kept in, the groups said.This operation is “a sobering reminder of the enormous scale of Viet Nam’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.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 individuals, according to local media.Officers discovered 45 cages containing around 400 live cats and four ice-filled foam containers holding approximately 80 dead cats, with 21 live cats recovered at a separate location, according to