Jump to content

Cat meat: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
[[Image:Cats before slaughter 03.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Cats before slaughter in Southeast Asia]]
[[Image:Cats before slaughter 03.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Cats before slaughter in Southeast Asia]]
'''Cat meat ''' or '''cat flesh''' is [[meat]] derived from [[cat]]s. It is eaten sporadically in southern [[China]], northern [[Vietnam]], [[Peru]], [[Cameroon]], [[Spain]], [[Argentina]], and [[Switzerland]]. During wartime rationing, cats found their way into "rabbit" stews/pies and hence earned themselves the nickname "roof-rabbit" in Britain.<ref name="CATS - FRIEND OR FOOD?">{{cite web | url = http://www.messybeast.com/eat-cats.htm| accessdate=2008-07-07 | title="CATS - FRIEND OR FOOD?"}}</ref>
'''Cat meat ''' or '''cat flesh''' is [[meat]] derived from [[cat]]s. It is eaten sporadically in southern [[China]], northern [[Vietnam]], [[Peru]], [[Cameroon]], [[Spain]], [[Argentina]], [[Switzerland]] and in rural areas of [[Bulgaria]]. During wartime rationing, cats found their way into "rabbit" stews/pies and hence earned themselves the nickname "roof-rabbit" in Britain.<ref name="CATS - FRIEND OR FOOD?">{{cite web | url = http://www.messybeast.com/eat-cats.htm| accessdate=2008-07-07 | title="CATS - FRIEND OR FOOD?"}}</ref>


It should not be confused with a British usage of '''cat meat'''<ref name="Cat Feeding"/> referring to the meat sold by a '''cat-meat man'''<ref name="Cat Feeding">{{cite web | url = http://www.petcareguides.org/cats/cat-care/cat-feeding/| accessdate=2008-07-18 | title="Cat Feeding"}}</ref> or '''cat's meat man''',<ref name="London Observed: John Galt - Cat's meat man on an East End street">{{cite web | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030309/ai_n12736141| accessdate=2008-07-18 | title="London Observed: John Galt - Cat's meat man on an East End street"}}</ref> a person who sold skewers of horsemeat and beef to cat owners in the days before packaged [[pet food]]s. Meat from (rather than for) a cat would more usually be termed '''cat flesh'''.
It should not be confused with a British usage of '''cat meat'''<ref name="Cat Feeding"/> referring to the meat sold by a '''cat-meat man'''<ref name="Cat Feeding">{{cite web | url = http://www.petcareguides.org/cats/cat-care/cat-feeding/| accessdate=2008-07-18 | title="Cat Feeding"}}</ref> or '''cat's meat man''',<ref name="London Observed: John Galt - Cat's meat man on an East End street">{{cite web | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030309/ai_n12736141| accessdate=2008-07-18 | title="London Observed: John Galt - Cat's meat man on an East End street"}}</ref> a person who sold skewers of horsemeat and beef to cat owners in the days before packaged [[pet food]]s. Meat from (rather than for) a cat would more usually be termed '''cat flesh'''.

Revision as of 19:56, 28 November 2009

Cats before slaughter in Southeast Asia

Cat meat or cat flesh is meat derived from cats. It is eaten sporadically in southern China, northern Vietnam, Peru, Cameroon, Spain, Argentina, Switzerland and in rural areas of Bulgaria. During wartime rationing, cats found their way into "rabbit" stews/pies and hence earned themselves the nickname "roof-rabbit" in Britain.[1]

It should not be confused with a British usage of cat meat[2] referring to the meat sold by a cat-meat man[2] or cat's meat man,[3] a person who sold skewers of horsemeat and beef to cat owners in the days before packaged pet foods. Meat from (rather than for) a cat would more usually be termed cat flesh.

Consumption of cat meat

Cats sold for meat along side ducks

In Asia

In southern China and northern Vietnam some people consider cat flesh a good warming food during winter months. The cat's stomach and intestines are eaten, as well as meat from the thighs, which are turned into meatballs served with soup. The head and the rest of the animal are thrown away.[4] Organized cat-collectors in Nanjing's north-western suburb of Pukuo regularly ship cats to be used as food to the southern province of Guangdong where felines have become scarce due to their use as food.[5]

In South America

Cat is not a regular menu item in Peru and is used in such dishes as fricasse and stews most abundant in the southern town of Chincha. Primarily used by Afro-Peruvians. Cat cooking techniques are demonstrated every September during the festival of Saint Efigenia in a town of La Quebrada.[6] In Brazil, especifically in Rio de Janeiro, there are urban legends saying that some street-made barbecue is made of cat meat, which is called "churrasquinho de gato" (literally, cat barbecue).

Cat meat has been consumed in the province of Rosario (Argentina) in the middle of the economic crisis in 1996. As citizens of Rosario argued to the media, "It's not denigrating to eat cat, it keeps a child's stomach full." [7]

Europe

Historically cats have been eaten in the West. [1] In Europe, cats are eaten in some rural parts of Switzerland;[8] the traditional recipe on farms in some regions involved cooking the cat with sprigs of thyme.[9] In January 2004, Reuters reported that, "Swiss culinary traditions include puppies and kittens. Private consumption of cat and dog is permissible. Swiss animal welfare groups say it is hard to estimate how many pets end up salted and smoked or in a Swiss frying pan each year." [1]

Inhabitants of Northern Italy, particularly those of Vicenza, are still nicknamed "magnagati" ('cat eaters') as a derogatory term in Venetian. [10]

Cat meat was also eaten in Spain in some rites of passage. The "cat stew" and "cat in sauce" recipes were found in Basque County in the province of Alava. [7]

Live cats have been eaten for the amusement of others in 18th century Britain. [11]

Elsewhere

Australian Aborigines in the area of Alice Springs roast wild cats on an open fire and consider the dish delicious. The Aboriginees have also developed recipes for cat stew. Some other inhabitants of the area have also taken up this custom, justified on the grounds that felines are "a serious threat to Australia's native fauna". Scientists warned that eating wild cats could expose man to harmful bacteria and toxins.[12]

Eating cat is said to bring luck in some parts of Cameroon. [13]

Because cats are carnivorous, consumption of cat meat is not permissible under Jewish or Islamic dietary laws.[14]

Cat meat is enjoyed as a delicacy by tribes like Irulas, Ongole and Boers of Tamil Nadus Krishnagiri District of India. [15] [16]

Opposition to use of cats as food

With the rise of pet cat ownership in China, sentimental opposition towards the traditional use of cats for food has grown. In June 2006, approximately 40 animal activists stormed the Fangji Cat Meatball Restaurant, a local restaurant specializing in cat meat in Shenzhen, China. They managed to force the restaurant to shut down and discontinue its selling of cat meat.[17]

Those changes began about two years after the formation of the Chinese Companion Animal Protection Network, a networking project of Chinese Animal Protection Network. Expanded to more than 40 member societies, CCAPN in January 2006 began organizing well-publicized protests against dog and cat eating, starting in Guangzhou, following up in more than ten other cities "with very optimal response from public."[18] In 2008 a series of incidents have been broadcasted by the media on the increased consumption of cat and dog meat in Guangdong areas.

References

  1. ^ a b c ""CATS - FRIEND OR FOOD?"". Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  2. ^ a b ""Cat Feeding"". Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  3. ^ ""London Observed: John Galt - Cat's meat man on an East End street"". Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  4. ^ "EastSouthWestNorth: The Shenzhen Cat Meatball Restaurant". Retrieved 2006-10-22.
  5. ^ Cat-nappers feed Cantonese taste for pet delicacy
  6. ^ ""FEATURE - 'Cat-eaters' take note - feline feast at Peru festival"". Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  7. ^ a b Consuming the inedible: neglected dimensions of food choice.
  8. ^ ""Utusan Express: Anyone for a hot dog? Going spare in Switzerland"". Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  9. ^ "Independent, UK: Switzerland finds a way to skin a cat for the fur trade and high fashion". Retrieved 2008-07-07. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 17 (help)
  10. ^ Taken from 'La Cucina Vicentina', by Amedeo Sandri and Maurizio Fallopi.
  11. ^ ""The Cat Eaters"". Retrieved 2009-10-12.
  12. ^ BBC NEWS, Australians cook up wild cat stew
  13. ^ The cat eaters of Cameroon
  14. ^ Template:Muslim
  15. ^ Cat meat a delicacy for Tamil Nadu tribes
  16. ^ Catching the cat eaters
  17. ^ "Reuters: Animal rights protest shuts restaurant". Retrieved 2006-10-22.
  18. ^ "Reuters: Guangzhou bans eating snakes--ban helps cats". Retrieved 2008-02-16.

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cat_meat&oldid=328435437"