Taboo Codexery

Cat meat

Cat meat: a global practice with ancient roots and modern taboos.

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In some cultures, cat meat is considered a delicacy or a warming winter food, while in others it is prohibited by religious dietary laws or national legislation.[1][2][3] Cat meat has been eaten in some places during famines or hard times, such as harsh winters or poor harvests.[4] Taiwan's 2017 amendments to its Animal Protection Act banned the sale and consumption of cat and dog meat, and the United States' 2018 Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act made commercial slaughter and trade of cat meat illegal.[5][6]

Quick Facts

Taiwan ban year
2017 (Animal Protection Act amendment)

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

In October 2017, Taiwan became the first Asian country to ban the consumption of cat meat and dog meat.[5] In December 2018, the Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act of 2018 was signed into federal law in the United States.[6] Ancient records mention cats being eaten in the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis, and in 18th-century France domestic cats were part of meat production, with recipes from 1740 still existing.[7] During both World Wars, cat meat served as a common famine food.[4]

In Madagascar, people catch and eat invasive feral forest cats, but the fitoaty type is forbidden to eat.[8] In Defense of Animals reports that 100,000 cats are killed each year in South Korea to produce cat soju.[9] In Vietnam, cat meat appears on menus under the euphemism "tiểu hổ", which translates to "little tiger".[10]

What the cited sources add

The Messybeast.com account notes that a plump adult cat offers better eating than a small kitten where they are sold for meat.[11] The same source reports that tales of cat-eating appear in Charles Dickens' "The Pickwick Papers" and that in 1885 a woman was convicted of selling cat meat as rabbit meat.[11] According to the BBC News article by Mercer, the meat of feral cats is said to taste like a cross between rabbit and chicken.[12] The same Guardian article reports that magistrate Maria Luyo said the event "fomented violence based on cruel acts against animals which caused grave social damage and damaged public health".[13]

The Messybeast.com account describes that during the Siege of Paris, market stalls did a thriving business in cat, dog and rat meat.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Cat meat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Survey of public attitudes to dog and cat eating in China", Animals Asia, June 2015, p. 7; "Some call it an indelicate trade, others, a delicacy", Xinhuanet.com, 2012-01-13 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Cat meat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Sahih Muslim 1934a - The Book of Hunting, Slaughter, and what may be Eaten", Sahih Muslim (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Cat meat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rabbi Louis Jacobs, "Kosher Animals", My Jewish Learning, January 31, 2014; "Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws", Judaism 101 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Cat meat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Cats - Friend Or Food", Messybeast.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Cat meat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Zeldin, "Taiwan: Animal Protection Law Amended", Global Legal Monitor, October 18, 2017; Haas, "Taiwan bans dog and cat meat from table as attitudes change", TheGuardian.com, April 12, 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Cat meat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "President Trump signs the Farm Bill making dog and cat meat illegal in the United States", WRDW-TV, December 21, 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Cat meat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ken Albala, "Food in Early Modern Europe", Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003, p. 66–; "History of the breed", Deutscher Kartäuserkatzen-CHA-Zuchtverein e.V.; Ken Albala, "Food in Early Modern Europe", Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003, p. 66– (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Cat meat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sauther, "Taxonomic identification of Madagascar’s free-ranging “forest cats”", Conservation Genetics, 2020-06-01, p. 443–451; Farris, "Feral cats and the fitoaty : first population assessment of the black forest cat in Madagascar’s rainforests", Journal of Mammalogy, 2016-03-23, p. 518–525; Czaja, "Consumption of Domestic Cat in Madagascar: Frequency, Purpose, and Health Implications", Anthrozoös, 2015-09-02, p. 469–482 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Cat meat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dog Meat", In Defense of Animals (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Cat meat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Việt Báo Thịt mèo; "Thành phố thịt mèo"; "9 Countries That Eat Cats and Dogs", The Daily Meal; "Cat Meat", Vietnam Coracle; "The Truth About Cats & Dogs In Vietnam - The Dropout Diaries", The Dropout Diaries; "Where cat sits happily on the menu", Stuff, July 25, 2011; The Christian Science Monitor, "Why do Vietnamese keep cats on a leash? (Hint: What's for dinner?)", The Christian Science Monitor; "Cats stolen, drowned, bludgeoned and boiled in secretive Vietnam trade", The Independent, August 12, 2020; Jerry Hopkins, "Extreme Cuisine: The Wei en.wikipedia.org
  11. "Cats - Friend Or Food", Messybeast.com. facts only, no text reused. messybeast.com
  12. Mercer, "Australians cook up wild cat stew", BBC News, September 2, 2007. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk
  13. Collyns, Dan (October 18, 2013). "Claws out as Peruvian judge suspends annual cat race and feast" . The Guardian.. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Cat meat (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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