# Thousands of Cats Buried Alive in Vietnam **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 5, 2015, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861 "2015-02-05T03:08:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/21 "2015-02-05T17:33:46Z")
Vietnam has long had a rat problem; one that can only be fixed by meows. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/22 "2015-02-05T17:50:05Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Gas, probably. Probably would work if you have a gas chamber conveniently available. Which seems quite unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/23 "2015-02-05T18:40:31Z")
So many landmines still out there still… What a waste of good cats. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/24 "2015-02-05T18:43:59Z")
At least they didn’t make them play Russian Roulette “Di-di meow!” ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/25 "2015-02-05T19:43:13Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Probably would work if you have a gas chamber conveniently available. Which seems quite unlikely. Now if this was North Korea instead… :smack: Oh, what am I thinking…if it was North Korea they definitely wouldn’t have buried them alive (or dead), since that would be a large portion of their potential protein for the month, and they certainly wouldn’t waste a perfectly good gas chamber on some cats when there are other undesirables about who are more in need. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/26 "2015-02-05T19:48:55Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Smuggled goods get buried? I’d be concerned that there was a typo in the story, and that he actually said they were “burned.” If it’s a typo, it’s a consistent one, as it appears later in the article also. > [@](#): > > “Therefore, we culled them by burying them,” he said, declining to confirm how many were alive at the time of burial. > > Animal protection groups, who pleaded in vain for the cats to be spared, fear many of the creatures were alive when they were buried. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/27 "2015-02-05T21:00:15Z")
So, what I’ve learned from is when I smuggle my millions of gold through Vietnam and if I get caught all I have to do is wait until nighttime and just dig it back up and I’ll be on my way. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/28 "2015-02-05T23:24:48Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Smuggled goods get buried? I’d be concerned that there was a typo in the story, and that he actually said they were “burned.” Because burning them alive is better than burying them alive? 😕 I have to say, even if you don’t see any alternative for what to do with the cats besides disposing of them, well really, they could at least kill the poor kitties in some other manner _before_ burying them. I’ve visited the old Hanoi Hilton prison in Hanoi, it’s a museum now, and they still have a couple of guillotines on display that were used by the French. Hell, even that would be better than burying them alive. I’m no fan of wretched street animals, Buddha knows we have more than our share in Bangkok, but I think if there was no way of killing them humanely, I wish some rogue cop had just opened the crates and let them flee. Just for the record: I knew Vietnamese ate dog but was not wholly aware of the cat preference too. But I’ve never personally seen dog _or_ cat on the menu in Vietnam. You may have to seek out a really local eatery for that. And there are a lot of Vietnamese communities in northeastern Thailand whose neighboring communities often seem to have a problem with disappearing dogs. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/29 "2015-02-06T03:58:52Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I have to say, even if you don’t see any alternative for what to do with the cats besides disposing of them, well really, they could at least kill the poor kitties in some other manner _before_ burying them. How? Honestly, how? How do you euthanize that many animals without some for of asphyxiation? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/30 "2015-02-06T04:05:48Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > “Di-di meow!” Get out of here?? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/31 "2015-02-06T04:22:54Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Probably would work if you have a gas chamber conveniently available. Which seems quite unlikely. If they were in an enclosed truck, then you just feed the exhaust of a few cars into the back of it. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/32 "2015-02-06T04:50:32Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > If they were in an enclosed truck, then you just feed the exhaust of a few cars into the back of it. Again, how is that better? How is carbon monoxide asphyxia more humane than carbon dioxide asphyxia? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/33 "2015-02-06T05:15:30Z")
I would rather they just be set free rather than buried alive, and again, I’m no fan of street animals. And I too am wondering why the animal-assistance groups were not prevailed upon to help. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/34 "2015-02-06T05:28:01Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > So, what I’ve learned from is when I smuggle my millions of gold through Vietnam and if I get caught all I have to do is wait until nighttime and just dig it back up and I’ll be on my way. It will be guarded however by a top layer of cats. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/35 "2015-02-06T05:42:09Z")
> [@armedmonkey](#): > > Again, how is that better? How is carbon monoxide asphyxia more humane than carbon dioxide asphyxia? It’s funny you put it that way, because actually there is a critical difference. The suffocation reflex is basically based not on lack of oxygen, but to a build-up of carbon dioxide. If you were to breathe, say, 100% nitrogen gas, you would just feel light-headed and then pass out without any feeling of suffocating. Carbon monoxide poisoning isn’t quite that pleasant – you get headaches and nausea – but still breathing CO is definitely a preferable way to go versus having your breathing blocked. This is why using car exhausts _used to_ be a popular method of suicide. However, modern car engines and catalytic converters are very efficient, and do not release much CO, so this method doesn’t work. I would guess though that in Vietnam they would have access to cars that don’t burn so clean. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/36 "2015-02-06T07:25:21Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > If a law calls for burying smuggled goods…the enforcers should still differentiate between live goods and not-alive goods. Letter of the law vs. spirit of the law. Wonder what they would do with a truckload of smuggled people. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/37 "2015-02-06T12:52:11Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Wonder what they would do with a truckload of smuggled people. Burn them? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/38 "2015-02-06T23:25:06Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Wonder what they would do with a truckload of smuggled people. > [@White SIFL](#): > > Burn them? Only if …[Monty Python]They’re a witch![/Monty Python] Meanwhile, I’m a little disheartened to know there are posters here who are okay with burying animals alive. But there may be hope for these cats yet. I give you … [Bart, the Zombie Cat from Florida](http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/30/us/zombie-cat-custody-battle/), alive after days of being buried. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861/39 "2015-02-07T01:23:18Z")
The fools! I guess they never saw [Pet Sematary](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Sematary)! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-cats-buried-alive-in-vietnam/711861.md?page=1)