A Chinese restaurant in Madrid, Spain, was caught by the police for catching and cooking pigeons, then selling them as 'roast duck.'
The British daily newspaper Telegraph reported on the 9th (local time) that a Chinese restaurant named 'Jingu' was recently closed by authorities, and the restaurant owner was arrested and is being investigated for violations related to public health and wildlife protection laws.
Police suspect that the restaurant prepared pigeons caught from the streets and served them to customers as traditional Chinese roast duck.
According to Spanish law, breeding pigeons is legal, but the restaurant was found to have no related documents whatsoever.
Last month, police raided the restaurant and found a secret space inside a restroom that was used as a storage area, where they discovered plucked pigeons and other items.
In this unsanitary space, teeming with cockroaches, prohibited seafood such as sea cucumbers and unidentified meat were also found. Police stated, 'About 1 ton of unidentified food was stored.'
This restaurant has been operating in Madrid for over 10 years. Among the hundreds of online reviews for this restaurant, numerous comments pointed out hygiene issues.