Student Group Eats a Cat in the Name of Animal Welfare
June 19, 2008 · Print This Article
A group of students in Denmark have had their Facebook profiles suspended after uploading a video of them eating a cat. The students planned the cat-eating performance as a way to call attention to the plight of food animals such as pigs and cows. The reaction from the community wasn’t what they had hoped for; animal rights organizations are attacking the group for the act, calling it inhumane.
From The Copenhagen Post:
Before ending up on the students’ plates, the main course lived a life as a feral cat. It had been shot by a farmer trying to control the number of cats on his land.
In addition to the 30 pictures that have now been removed from Facebook, the group’s profile also included a recipe for a dish called ‘litter box’.
According to the group, the cat was killed humanely and prepared by a professional chef. They said they had received a few raised eyebrows when plans of their meal slipped out, but were nevertheless surprised by people’s reactions and were ‘disappointed’ that the profile was no longer accessible.
‘We wanted people to think about what it was they were putting in their mouths,’ said Laura Bøge Mortensen, a group member and the editor of Citat, a student magazine that carried an article about the meal.
‘It’s hypocritical for us to spend thousands of kroner on our pets, yet buy the cheapest pork from Netto that comes from pigs that have lived a horrid life. And just why is it that it’s worse to eat a cat than a pig?’
I see their point; I am an animal rights advocate myself, and if it weren’t for my husband, I’d be a certifiable crazy cat lady. I can’t imagine ever eating a cat, but I would never eat a pig, cow, chicken or other animal deemed ‘acceptable’ by society, either – and I do think there’s a big disconnect between how we view treatment of domestic animals vs. animals traditionally raised for food. I think their act of protest is a very gutsy, but in the end a bit too much like a PETA stunt – plus, it doesn’t take into account the fact that millions of cats suffer worldwide due to overpopulation.
If you’re wondering what the cat tasted like, the students described it as “a little like chicken, with an aftertaste of fur. Slightly chewy.” Mmm!
Link [Copenhagen Post]
Photo credit: Flickr user allygirl520
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That WAS a brave stunt they pulled off. I hate when people get upset when other cultures eat horse or dog – why are pigs and cows OK??
When President of PETA Ingrid Newkirk dies, she wants to be bar-b-qued and eaten by people. Sounds like a Danish recipe is the way to go.
PS: I have a SUPER FAT CAT that could easily feed a family of six if anyone wants him. Ha ha!
Brave and innovative. Those of us who have pets love them – but as a cat owner I don’t see what’s so ’shocking’ about this stunt. As The Beautiful Kind said – other cultures see it as normal to eat horses, dogs, crickets… we just happen to eat pigs, cows, chickens and lambs. I used to be a vegetarian, thought I do eat meat today – and I think the mental schism most people have about what animals are ‘okay’ to eat, and which aren’t, is quite strange. I still refuse to eat veal based on a Peter Singer essay I once read – the same essay that turned me vego for two years.
[...] Dumb Green Idea: Eating cats (yes, seriously) [...]
I hate cats , but YUK! I wonder what it tastes like? Probably tastes like chicken.
Where’s the video? We want to see it!
Wow. Started a question on LinkedIn – Is this a good way to get your message out? Here are some responses:
Ajay Merchant wrote:
This is absolutely ridiculous and nonsense, apart from being very disgusting and cruel.
The only message being sent out is that these guys are mentally disturbed and need immediate psychiatric counselling.
How can you in the whole wide world justify eating one type of animal to protest cruelty to other species of animals ?
Its a very good thing that animal rights organisations are hounding this group of morons.
This is definitely not a normal or acceptable act and such tasteless and cruel behaviour must be punished severely by the justice / law enforcement system.
Alec East wrote:
Well… erm… obviously it was…
Their “message”, as I understand it, was to raise awareness and debate around animal welfare and, if this thread, the numerous blogs and all the online & traditional press coverage are anything to go by, it was a massive success. Google for “facebook students eat cat” and you get loads of relevant results.
It’s a question of priorities I suppose. For me, someone eating a cat isn’t anywhere near as disgusting as the knowledge that millions starve while we waste food.
Al
Rob Frappier wrote:
Well, there is the famous old adage “All publicity is good publicity”, but I think that anyone with a smidgen of sense knows that’s not true. Eating a cat to protest animal cruelty will bring a lot of attention, but it won’t be positive. In fact, to a certain extent, it might discredit the greater animal rights movement as merely a bunch of extremist whackos.
Jim Hurt wrote:
Only if you message is – ‘We are bat-shit crazy’.
DeeAnna Manning wrote:
I would have to say no. I wish it could get them arrested, though.
Cristiane Repoles wrote:
Unbelievable!
Faye Daigler wrote:
I see what they were trying to do, but I think their point was absolutely not made: all it will do is make them look insane to most people. As a vegetarian and animal rights activist, I could never prove a point by eating an animal; it would disgust me. I can see the motivation – that people would be horrified by the idea of eating a pet animal, and then forced to think about why they are not horrified by eating a stock animal – but most people have those delineations firmly enough planted that they’d be biased toward the cat, and those who aren’t probably already do not eat meat, or eat different kinds of meat (such as dogs or cats) culturally. Obviously this is a blanket statement. But.
A better idea would have been to do a print ad or video implying the same thing without actually eating a cat — making the same point without losing their credibility.
Nice extra polling Michael, there are a lot of good points on both sides there.
As is noted elsewhere: “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.”
http://tinyurl.com/6hq22h
The cat would surely consider them to be monsters. I can very much appreciate their interest in trying to bring attention to the plight of farmed animals -if in fact that is really what they were trying to do- but that is certainly not a good way to go about it.
yo that cat eating shit was ape-shit-crazy. i think im going to eat some cats cuz they sound delicious.
Let me put it this way: Would you protest America’s war in Iraq by invading, oh, I don’t know, let’s say… DENMARK?!