Why doesn't it count as theft, if a cat is registered as somebody's property? China's constitution guarantees property rights; it doesn't make an exclusion for animals. Certainly if a farmer's cows were stolen by another farmer, the thief would be prosecuted for theft.
It depends on the species of cat, the age, etc. For pure breeds, the market price is relatively clear. For other cats the simplest valuation is just the price originally paid for it. Even if it's just $1/cat, that's still a car with over $1000 in stolen goods.
You may well be correct with regard to the cat elites in the haul. The problem is that the vast majority of cats were not purchased for money. Instead, they were adopted for free. In any case, for some reason apparently it does not constitute a crime prosecutable under criminal law.
Interesting. It wouldn't happen in a country with a common law system, as theft of someone's property is a tort even if there isn't an explicit law for it.
I wish I have to learn that there's no form of animal control nor any animal shelters in China as we would have in America. They do not seem to be a class that requires protection. I've seen several house pets simply left outside and their owners left town with a note on their neck. Do the Chinese love their pets or do they not?
If people will keep on showing that they care about their cats, and they will keep on rescuing them, and, possibly, complaining about the problem, I suppose that at one point the government will listen.
>Without a law having been broken
Why doesn't it count as theft, if a cat is registered as somebody's property? China's constitution guarantees property rights; it doesn't make an exclusion for animals. Certainly if a farmer's cows were stolen by another farmer, the thief would be prosecuted for theft.
The problem is the valuation. How much is a cat worth - as property?
It depends on the species of cat, the age, etc. For pure breeds, the market price is relatively clear. For other cats the simplest valuation is just the price originally paid for it. Even if it's just $1/cat, that's still a car with over $1000 in stolen goods.
You may well be correct with regard to the cat elites in the haul. The problem is that the vast majority of cats were not purchased for money. Instead, they were adopted for free. In any case, for some reason apparently it does not constitute a crime prosecutable under criminal law.
Interesting. It wouldn't happen in a country with a common law system, as theft of someone's property is a tort even if there isn't an explicit law for it.
That was fun. I’ll be waiting for your follow up reporting.🐈🐈⬛
I wish I have to learn that there's no form of animal control nor any animal shelters in China as we would have in America. They do not seem to be a class that requires protection. I've seen several house pets simply left outside and their owners left town with a note on their neck. Do the Chinese love their pets or do they not?
If people will keep on showing that they care about their cats, and they will keep on rescuing them, and, possibly, complaining about the problem, I suppose that at one point the government will listen.