Police in Ho Chi Minh City have arrested 12 men accused of running a sprawling cat-theft operation that snatched thousands of animals from city streets and sold them for meat, Vietnamese state media reported.
Authorities identified Luu Thanh Binh, 39, as the suspected mastermind of the network. He and the 11 other detainees are under investigation on theft charges, according to state media reports released Monday.
Investigators say Binh purchased stolen cats and housed them at a facility in the northern part of Vietnam's largest city before reselling the animals for meat. He allegedly worked with a network of suppliers who recruited individuals to hunt for cats under the cover of darkness.
The alleged cat snatchers rode motorcycles through residential neighborhoods between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., trapping four to 10 cats per night, according to investigators. The network was allegedly capable of rounding up as many as 10 cats in a single night.
Police raided the operation on July 8, seizing roughly 50 cats along with dozens of traps, state media reported. The suspects told investigators they had stolen and sold approximately 2,700 cats, though police did not disclose how long the operation had been running.
The raid yielded a small fraction of the animals believed to have passed through the network. Officers were able to return 13 of the confiscated cats to their owners, while a nonprofit animal rights group took responsibility for caring for the remaining animals as authorities worked to identify the people who had lost them.
The case has drawn attention to Vietnam's underground trade in cat meat, a practice that, while not unique to the country, has become increasingly controversial as pet ownership rises and attitudes toward animals shift.
Eating dog and cat meat is not exclusive to Vietnam and has been documented in parts of Asia, though it is not a widespread practice. In Vietnam, cat meat has traditionally been consumed more commonly in the northern regions of the country and among older generations.
The tradition is rooted in part in folk beliefs. Some people believe eating cat meat brings good luck, although there is no scientific evidence to support such claims. That superstition, along with the relative scarcity and perceived value of the meat, has helped sustain demand despite changing social norms.
The practice has been declining for years, driven by growing pet ownership, urbanization and shifting cultural values. Younger Vietnamese are considerably more likely to view dogs and cats as companion animals rather than livestock or food, a generational divide that has contributed to the contraction of the trade.
Public opposition to the cat and dog meat industry has also become more visible. In 2024, more than 250,000 people signed a petition calling for an end to Vietnam's dog and cat meat trade, signaling a groundswell of grassroots pressure for change.
The effort to curtail the trade has gained institutional momentum in some communities as well. The city of Hoi An pledged in 2021 to end the sale and consumption of dog and cat meat, becoming one of the first localities in the country to make such a commitment.
Vietnamese law treats dogs and cats as private property, meaning that stealing them constitutes theft. Criminal prosecution generally applies when the value of the stolen property exceeds 2 million dong, a threshold that would almost certainly be met in a case involving thousands of animals. Authorities have not said precisely how the value of the allegedly stolen cats was calculated.
The network's alleged structure — a buyer at the center of a supply chain that relied on recruited cat snatchers — underscores the organized commercial nature of the operation rather than a one-off crime. Binh allegedly occupied the role of collector and reseller, providing an outlet for thieves who prowled neighborhoods night after night.
The case also highlights the challenges facing animal welfare advocates and law enforcement in a country where the trade, while declining, persists in certain regions. The overnight timing of the thefts, the use of motorcycles for rapid movement through residential areas, and the deployment of traps all suggest a level of planning that complicates efforts to prevent the activity.
For pet owners in Ho Chi Minh City, the arrests may offer some reassurance, but the recovery of only 13 cats out of roughly 50 seized in the raid illustrates the difficulty of reuniting stolen animals with their families. There is no national pet registration system in Vietnam, and microchipping remains uncommon, making it hard for authorities to match recovered animals with their rightful owners.
The Humane World for Animals, a nonprofit animal rights organization, has been caring for the confiscated cats while authorities continue their investigation. The group's involvement reflects the broader role that civil society organizations have played in advocating for stronger protections for companion animals.
The investigation remains ongoing. Police have not announced whether additional arrests are expected or whether the alleged suppliers and cat snatchers will face separate charges. As of the state media reports released Monday, the 12 men in custody were being investigated for theft, and further legal proceedings are expected to follow.
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