Is It Okay To Eat A Pet Cat?

This study illustrates some general facets of anthrozoology - the new science of human-animal relationships. First, the commonly held belief that people never eat their pets is not true. Public opinion polls report that between 75% and 95% of American pet owners think of their dogs and cats as family members. While the researchers did not report on whether cats are considered family members in Madagascar, but I'm pretty sure they are not. Second, as I described in this article, when it comes to our attitudes towards animals, culture is often more important than biology. In his book Cat Sense, John Bradshaw shows how attitudes towards cats differ widely between societies and can change rapidly. In ancient Egypt, cats were deified, in the Middle Ages they were vilified, and over the last two hundred years, they have become objects of our affection. Now we can add "some we eat" to the list. Indeed, a million cats are consumed each year in Asia. In parts of Africa, eating cat meat is associated with good luck, and in some rural villages in Switzerland cat is served up for Christmas dinner. Third, eating animals can be risky. The researchers point out that cat meat is potentially perilous as cats are often infected with toxoplasmosis and other contagious diseases. They argue that public health officials in Madagascar should discourage the consumption of road kill and cats that have died of natural causes. And they urge cat eaters to thoroughly cook feline flesh. * * * * Ref...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news