Peruvians Ludicrously Claim That as the Descendants of Slaves They Are Entitled to Massacre and Eat Cats with Impunity

"There have always been some people who eat cat but we've broken the silence. For us, it's a tradition for many years and they can't take that away from us."
-- Sabio Canas

There never has been anything positive that could be said about the slave trade but to use it as a convenient excuse in order to kill and eat cats is not only dishonest but barbaric as well. Nevertheless, that is precisely the rationale behind the two-day Festival Gastronomica del Gato held each September in La Quebrada.

Located one-hundred-forty kilometers south of Lima, La Quebrada was founded by slaves brought to colonial Peru in order to work on the cotton plantations. It was at that juncture in their history that they claim to have begun feasting on cats due to a lack of food.

"There have always been some people who eat cat but we've broken the silence," festival organizer Sabio Canes told Planet Ark on September 28, 2001. (See "Cat-Eaters Take Note: Feline Feast at Peru Festival.") "For us, it's a tradition of many years and they can't take that away from us."

While it is not in dispute that the three-thousand residents of La Quebrada have been eating cats for a long time, it is far from certain that the practice has its roots in necessity. For example, the plantation owners had to feed them in order that they would have sufficient strength to work in the fields and it strains credulity to believe that they expected them to supplement their diets by killing and eating cats.

The more likely story is that they ate cats long before they ever arrived in Peru. Besides, even if times were meager on the plantation that is not a valid reason to continue this horrible practice.

Regardless of the rationale, it is estimated that around one-hundred cats are butchered and eaten each year at Festival Gastronomica del Gato. Some of them are specially bred for the pot while others, both domestics and strays, are rounded up off the streets.

Their legs, tails, and insides are then fried up along with onions, garlic, hot peppers, and squash and served at the outdoor festival held in honor of Santa Ifigenia. (See photos above and below.) So-called cat burgers are another popular item on the menu.

"Yo como gato desde que tengo uso de razon, mis diecisiete hijos tambien lo comen y es gente muy sana," sixty-three-year-old Aura Francisca told Trome of Lima on September 23rd. (See "Gato al huacatay fue la sensacion.")

Many of the attendees also claim that eating cats not only cures bronchial ailments but also improves their performance in the sack. Although there is not a scintilla of scientific evidence to back up either claim, the Peruvians are far from being the only subscribers to such outlandish nonsense. (See Cat Defender posts of September 13, 2007 and February 8, 2006 entitled, respectively, "Costa Rican Bull Rider Bites Off the Heads of Live Cats, Dogs, and Other Animals, Drinks Their Blood, and Then Eats Their Flesh" and "Stray Cats Rounded Up in Shanghai, Butchered, and Sold as Mutton in Restaurants and on the Street.")

Contrary to what most people would ordinarily think, eating cats is not confined to stupid and backward people. Par exemple, Australian wildlife proponent and children's author Kaye Kessing is attempting to eradicate feral cats by eating them into extinction. (See Cat Defender post of September 7, 2007 entitled "Australians Renounce Civilization and Revert to Savages with the Introduction of a Grotesque Plan to Get Rid of Cats by Eating Them.")

Earlier this year, students at the Danish School of Journalism in Aarhus cooked and devoured a cat as part of a cheap publicity stunt. (See Cat Defender post of August 25, 2008 entitled "Danish Journalism Students Procure the Corpse of a Murdered Cat and Then Skin, Cook, and Eat It in Order to Promote Their Careers.")

Although the rationales vary from country to country, all consumers of feline flesh share in common an abiding hatred of cats. Claims of starvation, medicinal benefits, and tradition are mere subterfuges that they trot out in order to justify their crimes. Furthermore, it is highly unlikely that such individuals would even flinch at the thought of engaging in a little cannibalism if they thought that they could get away with it.

In a certain sense the crimes perpetuated by the residents of La Quebrada against cats are even more odious because they demonstrate that they have learned absolutely nothing from the travails of their ancestors. If they had, they would have acquired by now a measure of compassion for a defenseless animal that they treat far worse than their forefathers were ever treated as slaves.

Photos: Peru.com.