<p>Nearly 150 cats bound for slaughterhouses have been rescued by police in eastern China, an international animal welfare organisation said.</p>.<p>The animals were crammed into rusty cages when they were found by police in the eastern city of Jinan in Shandong province, Humane Society International (HSI) said in a statement Tuesday.</p>.<p>A gang placed sparrows in cages as bait and used a remote control to shut the traps as soon as each cat entered, an activist with local animal rights group VShine said.</p>.<p>"It was shocking to see the state they were in, many of them emaciated and crying out," an activist, who only offered their last name Huang, said in a statement to HSI.</p>.<p>"Our discovery of dozens of live sparrows used as bait to lure the cats was also a big shock."</p>.<p>Most of the rescued felines are believed to have been household pets and have been sent to local animal shelters, the statement added.</p>.<p>Activists also found 31 sparrows -- a protected species in China -- at the scene and released them back into the wild.</p>.<p>China has no animal cruelty prevention laws, but the suspects could face penalties for hunting the birds, property theft and for violations of animal epidemic prevention rules.</p>.<p>Around 10 million dogs and four million cats are killed for human consumption each year in China, according to HSI.</p>.<p>Dog and cat meat is considered a delicacy in some parts of China, and the trade in their flesh remains lucrative enough to spur criminal gangs to steal pets, though the habit has seen a steady decline as pet ownership has risen.</p>.<p>Every June, the city of Yulin in southern China hosts a dog meat festival, where live canines and cats are sold for eating.</p>.<p>The tradition of eating dogs and cats in south China's Guangdong and Guangxi provinces dates back thousands of years.</p>.<p>"These are China's two main cat meat eating hotspots," Dr Peter Li, HSI China policy specialist, said in a statement.</p>.<p>"Throughout the rest of mainland China, cat meat is not part of the food culture at all."</p>.<p>The Covid-19 outbreak appears to have further reduced the appetite for cat and dog meat after the disease was linked to a market in the central city of Wuhan selling live animals for food.</p>.<p>China banned the consumption and trade of wildlife in 2020.</p>.<p>The Guangdong cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai banned the consumption of dogs and cats in April that year, becoming the first cities in China to do so.</p>
<p>Nearly 150 cats bound for slaughterhouses have been rescued by police in eastern China, an international animal welfare organisation said.</p>.<p>The animals were crammed into rusty cages when they were found by police in the eastern city of Jinan in Shandong province, Humane Society International (HSI) said in a statement Tuesday.</p>.<p>A gang placed sparrows in cages as bait and used a remote control to shut the traps as soon as each cat entered, an activist with local animal rights group VShine said.</p>.<p>"It was shocking to see the state they were in, many of them emaciated and crying out," an activist, who only offered their last name Huang, said in a statement to HSI.</p>.<p>"Our discovery of dozens of live sparrows used as bait to lure the cats was also a big shock."</p>.<p>Most of the rescued felines are believed to have been household pets and have been sent to local animal shelters, the statement added.</p>.<p>Activists also found 31 sparrows -- a protected species in China -- at the scene and released them back into the wild.</p>.<p>China has no animal cruelty prevention laws, but the suspects could face penalties for hunting the birds, property theft and for violations of animal epidemic prevention rules.</p>.<p>Around 10 million dogs and four million cats are killed for human consumption each year in China, according to HSI.</p>.<p>Dog and cat meat is considered a delicacy in some parts of China, and the trade in their flesh remains lucrative enough to spur criminal gangs to steal pets, though the habit has seen a steady decline as pet ownership has risen.</p>.<p>Every June, the city of Yulin in southern China hosts a dog meat festival, where live canines and cats are sold for eating.</p>.<p>The tradition of eating dogs and cats in south China's Guangdong and Guangxi provinces dates back thousands of years.</p>.<p>"These are China's two main cat meat eating hotspots," Dr Peter Li, HSI China policy specialist, said in a statement.</p>.<p>"Throughout the rest of mainland China, cat meat is not part of the food culture at all."</p>.<p>The Covid-19 outbreak appears to have further reduced the appetite for cat and dog meat after the disease was linked to a market in the central city of Wuhan selling live animals for food.</p>.<p>China banned the consumption and trade of wildlife in 2020.</p>.<p>The Guangdong cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai banned the consumption of dogs and cats in April that year, becoming the first cities in China to do so.</p>