Two people were detained by police for capturing cats in Beijing and selling their meat in neighboring Tianjin, Beijing Morning Post reported.

Early last month, a neighborhood in the western part of Beijing noticed five stray cats were missing. Suspecting they had been stolen, Li Xiaomi and other animal lovers began to patrol in the evenings.

In the early hours of Thursday, Li found a stray cat was about to enter a trap baited with a sparrow and stopped it. About five minutes later, a teenager arrived to check the trap and Li would not let him leave.

Later, an older man with a strong Tianjin accent who was the partner of the teenager, came to the scene. Li called the police, who asked the man why he was catching cats. The man said it was justifiable to catch stray cats and sell them as meat for the table in Tianjin because they had no owners.

Cops took the duo and their minivan, which had no permit to enter Beijing, to a police station.