Debate on selling pets to pay debts swirls after Chinese court tries to auction cat

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The planned sale earlier in August sparked debate online about whether pets should be treated as assets that can be auctioned.

PHOTO: PIXABAY

BEIJING - A three-year-old cat listed for auction by a local court in Yangzhou, in China’s Jiangsu province, to settle its owner’s debts was removed from the auction list on Aug 22, the Yangtse Evening Post reported.

The planned sale earlier in August sparked debate online about whether pets should be treated as assets that can be auctioned.

Cover News, a media outlet based in Chengdu, Sichuan province, reported that the removal came after “the applicant and other creditors withdrew the application”.

A pet store that had been caring for the cat confirmed that the court had taken it, though the reasons for the court’s action and the animal’s destination remain unclear, Cover News said.

The Yangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone People’s Court drew widespread attention when it announced the auction, as the item up for bid was not a typical asset like property or furniture, but a living animal.

The listing attracted more than 61,000 views and 6,500 bidders, with offers climbing from a starting price of 500 yuan (S$90) to as high as 8,000 yuan, according to the report.

The pet store’s staff said the cat was healthy and weighed about 4kg.

The auction exposure ignited debate on Sina Weibo, China’s version of Twitter.

Some users argued that selling the cat showed no respect for life, while others said