Authorities in Spain have closed a Chinese restaurant in Madrid’s Usera district after a shocking discovery revealed the eatery had been serving street pigeons disguised as roasted duck.
The operation was halted following a raid on March 25, during which municipal police uncovered serious public health violations.
During the inspection, officers found meat and fish stored in eight freezers without labels, expiration dates, or any indication of origin. The unsanitary conditions included cockroach infestations, rodent traps placed directly on the floor, and piles of untraceable meat.
Alarmingly, plucked street pigeons were present, reportedly hunted and killed by staff before being prepared for unsuspecting diners.
A secret storage room concealed behind a shelf in the disabled bathroom—not included in the restaurant’s business license—was also discovered.
Police highlighted the absence of thermometers to monitor food storage temperatures, a basic requirement in the restaurant industry. Local media further reported that some 300 kilograms of decomposing food were found on-site, with meat seen drying on makeshift clotheslines inside the establishment.
One officer noted that the foul stench of rotting seafood overwhelmed the investigation team, calling the environment “almost unbearable.” Residents of the restaurant’s building said they had avoided eating there due to the unpleasant smell. They had often seen food being delivered and left outside the premises in plain view.
The restaurant was immediately ordered to cease operations, and its owner is now under investigation for multiple offenses, including endangering public health, violating consumer rights, and committing acts of animal cruelty.
In a separate case in Vietnam, another restaurant has been permanently shut down for its involvement in the country’s illicit feline meat trade. Located in the Thịnh Đán ward of Thái Nguyên City, Gia Bảo restaurant — operated by 37-year-old Pham Quoc Doanh — had been slaughtering up to 300 cats per month, according to reports.
The venue advertised “specialty cat meat” with a black cat image on its signage and had been in business for five years. Despite the practice being controversial and cruel, cat meat consumption remains relatively common in Vietnam, where it is falsely believed to provide health benefits, act as a lucky charm, and even fight off illnesses like COVID-19.
In an interview, Doanh claimed that he never intended to enter the cat meat trade but turned to it out of financial desperation after failing to sustain his family with traditional food and drink sales.
“I never wanted to run a slaughterhouse,” he told Metro in 2023. “But the income from my regular menu was insufficient to cover our living expenses. I started selling cat meat because no other restaurant in the area offered it.”
An estimated one million cats — many of them strays or stolen pets — are killed annually for meat in Vietnam, with growing calls for authorities to crack down on the practice amid mounting concern over animal welfare and food safety.
Both cases have sparked outrage and highlighted the need for stricter enforcement of food safety regulations and animal protection laws in the restaurant industry.
