Cat meat being sold as mutton in roadside eateries

Chennai

Meat lovers beware! The succulent lamb chops or spicy roasted mutton pieces at aroadside eatery might be prepared from cat meat.

“In the past few months, there has been a spurt in demand for cat meat,“ says G Arun Prasanna of People for Cattle in India (PFCI). Volunteers have rescued around 40 stolen cats -meant to be slaughtered for meat -from gypsy colonies at Pallavaram, Avadi, Ayanavaram, and Red hills in the last six months.The largest haul (20) was from Red Hills, followed by Pallavaram (14). Recently , a large number of carcasses and cat skins were recovered at Kotturpuram gypsy colony . “A total of seven police complaints have been registered so far,“ said a police officer.

A large polythene bag of cat meat weighing between 2kg and 3 kg costs around `100.It is supplied to small vendors and biriyani stalls across the city . They are then sold to unsuspecting customers as mutton preparations. Similar is the case with the vendors selling `side dishes' near Tasmac outlets in Red Hills, Pallava ram and Avadi, according to Prasanna.

“Mutton 65 prepared from cat meat was a hit among tipplers,“ said Ramesh Kerketta (name changed) from Jharkhand, a former teenage help at a stall near a Tasmac outlet in Pallavaram.

Explaining the modus operandi, S Shanmugham, another volunteer said, the gypsies target cats near MRTS stations and bus depots. These cats are caught with nets, drugged and stuffed in gunny bags. There is another facet which fuels the demand for cat meat. Many people believe that cat meat is an aphrodisiac and has several medicinal properties. Quacks prescribe cat meat for impotency , asthma and arthritis, said animal activist Suchitra Rao.

Also, cat meat is considered a delicacy among gyp sies. A fortnight ago, PFCI volunteers raided a narikaruva wedding. Around 20 cats had been slaughtered for cat biriyani. A video clip (a copy of which is with TOI) shows people admitting that the dish was being cooked for guests.

Attempts to contact heads of gypsy community proved futile. Volunteers conducted a sensitisation camp at Poonamallee gypsy colony in January . “We plan to conduct more camps as according to Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSA) cat meat is unfit for human consumption,“ said Prasanna.