Despite facing many difficulties since changing his business, Mr. Doanh and his family are determined to give up economic profits to have a more peaceful and relaxed spirit. The story of Mr. Pham Quoc Doanh and his family is becoming an inspiration and is widely spread on social networks.
We visited Pham Quoc Doanh’s house in Tan Duc hamlet, Thinh Duc commune, Thai Nguyen city, Thai Nguyen province not long after he closed his cat meat business. Right in front of his business were dozens of cages that were used to keep cats waiting to be slaughtered.
Mr. Doanh shared: "Although I have given up trading and slaughtering cats, I still keep these cages as a reminder to change myself for the better and switch to a more humane business model."
Back when he was running a cat meat restaurant, Mr. Doanh killed 300 cats each month with a profit of about 30 million VND/month. There were times when the restaurant was crowded with hundreds of diners and the profit was even higher.
However, when he saw his children witnessing him abusing and killing animals, he felt uneasy. Thinking about what he had been doing for the past years and the fact that his children had witnessed him slaughtering cats every day, he decided to tear down the sign himself and find a way to support his family with another job.
“The cats I bought were normal, some were clingy, they were happy to see me, but I felt guilty when I killed them. Some missed their owners so much, I felt sorry for them when I killed them. I suddenly felt like I didn’t want to kill them anymore. At first, I started selling cat meat just to make money, I didn’t think much about it because my family was in difficult circumstances. If I quit, I wouldn’t know what to do,” Doanh confided.
With the support of Human Society International (HSI - an organization specializing in animal protection in the world), Mr. Doanh determined to give up the dog and cat slaughtering business and have the capital to open a medium-sized grocery store in the locality.
At present, the business is not very favorable and he has faced many advices to return to the dog and cat slaughtering business which is both leisurely and economically beneficial, but Mr. Doanh is determined to refuse. However, despite the difficulties in trading, Mr. Doanh is determined not to return to his old profession.
Knowing Mr. Doanh's story through the press and social networks. Moved and inspired by the effort to change life with the spirit that nothing is impossible when Mr. Doanh defied difficulties, ignored economic benefits, gave up the cat slaughtering profession to open a grocery store. Tan Hiep Phat Company decided to support him and his family to motivate him in a new journey on the path of serving consumers, serving society and the community in a more meaningful and humane way.
Accordingly, Tan Hiep Phat Company recently gave him and his family 100 boxes of Dr Thanh Tea products and supported his family to assemble a conveyor belt to transport and load products more conveniently and easily. According to Mr. Doanh: "Since switching from the daily job of slaughtering cats to selling health-beneficial products, my mind feels at peace, no longer haunted by the image of slaughtering animals."
Ms. Vu Phuong Thanh - Number 1 Brand Ambassador said: "Tan Hiep Phat Company highly appreciates the decision of Mr. Doanh and his family to give up the business profits from cat slaughter and switch to grocery business. With the admirable and inspiring efforts in protecting animals, spreading many humane values to the community, we believe that his business will grow more and more and his story will continue to inspire the community and society."
It is known that this is one of many community activities of Tan Hiep Phat Company to bring positive and sustainable values to the community.
