Truck crash sees 600 cats escape cooking pot in central China
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A volunteer feeds a cat, as more than 1,000 cats locked in cases without food and water were discovered after a traffic accident on a street of Changsha, Hunan province Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Cats are seen locked in cases without food and water, after a traffic accident on a street of Changsha, Hunan province Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Paws of cats locked in cases without food and water are seen, after a traffic accident on a street of Changsha, Hunan province Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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This picture taken on Jan 15, 2013, shows a volunteers feeding caged cats after the truck that was transporting more than 1000 cats was involved in an accident in Changsha, central China's Hunan province. -- PHOTO: AFP
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This picture taken on Jan 15, 2013, shows a volunteers feeding caged cats after the truck that was transporting more than 1000 cats was involved in an accident in Changsha, central China's Hunan province. The cats, dehydrated, hungry and destined to be eaten, were left stranded in more than 40 cramped cages in the abandoned truck. They were finally rescued by animal loving local volunteers, state media reported. --PHOTO: AFP
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This picture taken on Jan 15, 2013, shows a volunteers feeding caged cats after the truck that was transporting more than 1000 cats was involved in an accident in Changsha, central China's Hunan province. The cats, dehydrated, hungry and destined to be eaten, were left stranded in more than 40 cramped cages in the abandoned truck. They were finally rescued by animal loving local volunteers, state media reported. -- PHOTO: AFP
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This picture taken on Jan 15, 2013, shows a volunteers feeding caged cats after the truck that was transporting more than 1000 cats was involved in an accident in Changsha, central China's Hunan province. The cats, dehydrated, hungry and destined to be eaten, were left stranded in more than 40 cramped cages in the abandoned truck. They were finally rescued by animal loving local volunteers, state media reported. -- PHOTO: AFP
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This picture taken on Jan 15, 2013, shows a volunteers feeding caged cats after the truck that was transporting more than 1000 cats was involved in an accident in Changsha, central China's Hunan province. The cats, dehydrated, hungry and destined to be eaten, were left stranded in more than 40 cramped cages in the abandoned truck. They were finally rescued by animal loving local volunteers, state media reported. -- PHOTO: AFP
A volunteer feeds a cat, as more than 1,000 cats locked in cases without food and water were discovered after a traffic accident on a street of Changsha, Hunan province Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Cats are seen locked in cases without food and water, after a traffic accident on a street of Changsha, Hunan province Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Paws of cats locked in cases without food and water are seen, after a traffic accident on a street of Changsha, Hunan province Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
This picture taken on Jan 15, 2013, shows a volunteers feeding caged cats after the truck that was transporting more than 1000 cats was involved in an accident in Changsha, central China's Hunan province. -- PHOTO: AFP
This picture taken on Jan 15, 2013, shows a volunteers feeding caged cats after the truck that was transporting more than 1000 cats was involved in an accident in Changsha, central China's Hunan province. The cats, dehydrated, hungry and destined to be eaten, were left stranded in more than 40 cramped cages in the abandoned truck. They were finally rescued by animal loving local volunteers, state media reported. --PHOTO: AFP
This picture taken on Jan 15, 2013, shows a volunteers feeding caged cats after the truck that was transporting more than 1000 cats was involved in an accident in Changsha, central China's Hunan province. The cats, dehydrated, hungry and destined to be eaten, were left stranded in more than 40 cramped cages in the abandoned truck. They were finally rescued by animal loving local volunteers, state media reported. -- PHOTO: AFP
This picture taken on Jan 15, 2013, shows a volunteers feeding caged cats after the truck that was transporting more than 1000 cats was involved in an accident in Changsha, central China's Hunan province. The cats, dehydrated, hungry and destined to be eaten, were left stranded in more than 40 cramped cages in the abandoned truck. They were finally rescued by animal loving local volunteers, state media reported. -- PHOTO: AFP
This picture taken on Jan 15, 2013, shows a volunteers feeding caged cats after the truck that was transporting more than 1000 cats was involved in an accident in Changsha, central China's Hunan province. The cats, dehydrated, hungry and destined to be eaten, were left stranded in more than 40 cramped cages in the abandoned truck. They were finally rescued by animal loving local volunteers, state media reported. -- PHOTO: AFP
BEIJING (AFP) - Around 600 cats stuffed into wooden crates and destined for dinner plates in southern China were rescued by animal protection volunteers after a truck crash, a volunteer said today.
Volunteers hauled the felines from the lorry on Monday after the accident in the central city of Changsha, said Xu Chenxin of the Changsha Small Animal Protection Association. About another 100 were already dead.
Pictures of the rescue, showing volunteers unloading the crates late at night, were widely shared on Chinese social media sites.
Many of the cats, which were white and plump, had escaped or died after being left out in the cold for more than 24 hours. The cats were "clearly" due to be served as food in southern China, Xu said.
