Yulin dog meat festival begins amid outcry from within China

A controversial dog meat festival has got under way in the city of Yulin in south-western China amid international condemnation and an increasing backlash from within the country.

It is estimated that some 10,000 dogs will be slaughtered during the festival and their meat eaten with lychees. Dog meat is considered a delicacy is some parts of China but there is increasing opposition to the practice as dogs have become popular pets among China’s growing middle class, particularly in affluent cities.

While the festival has been a focus of international outcry in previous years, opposition is growing in China, with a number of celebrities including actor Fan Bingbing adding their voices to an online campaign. Fan features in a video with a number of other celebrities holding signs saying: “Dogs are our friends, please don’t hurt them.”

Keeping distance

Yulin’s local government has distanced itself from the festival, which has been running since 1995. Earlier this month, it announced that there was no official dog meat festival and that it was something that had spread among some traders and local people.

“Yulin government itself or any social organisations have never held a summer solstice lychee and dog meat festival in any form,” read the announcement carried in state media.

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese social media users have also been vocal in their opposition of the festival. One user on the social networking site Weibo, Yu Yun Qiang Wei, said: "If there is no one willing to eat dog meat, then the industry would not exist. When the buying stops, the killing can too."

Another said dogs “need a warm home. If you don’t love dogs, please don’t hurt them. If you love them, please treat them well.”

Local tradition

Yulin residents claim that the festival and the practice of eating dog meat is a local tradition and that the dogs are not killed in an inhumane way. However, activists say the dogs are transported to Yulin from all over China and are often domestic animals that have been stolen. Photos circulating online showed hundreds of dogs squeezed into tiny cages and dead animals being butchered on the pavement.

A small number of Chinese animal activists have travelled to Yulin in an attempt to save dogs from ending up on plates. One particularly determined dog lover is reported to have bought 100 dogs from traders. Yang Xiaoyun travelled from Tianjin in northern China to Yulin and bought the dogs for 7,000 yuan (€990), according to local media reports.

Last year, Ms Yang bought 360 dogs. She says she intends to set up a home to look after the dogs. "Eating dog meat is their local custom. I don't want to change that, I only wish I can influence them by what I am doing," Ms Yang was quoted as saying by Fa Zhi Wan Bao, a Beijing-based news website.

Guardian