Of the 1,400 dogs rescued from the clutches of the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival, only 400 dogs remain at the shelter. (Photo : Reuters)
Local and foreign animal rights activists stormed the markets of Yulin, not to sample some sweet lychees that is the fruit serving as the star of a current festival, but to protest the same festivity that is causing the death of man’s favorite four-legged friend.
Dogs are really the main attractions of the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival held annually on this part of Guangxi. This year, it kicked off on June 22 and will last for 10 days.
Restaurants also include cat meat in the menu. Yes, cats are being butchered, too.
Apparently the local government of Yulin has no law banning the selling and eating of dog meat; otherwise, the annual mass slaughtering of dogs will not take place at all.
Human Society International said that some 10,000 dogs will be killed this year. It said that dog meat traders “invented” the Yulin Dog Meat Festival back in 2010, which renders it not being a genuine or ancient Chinese tradition.
Scruffy and scrawny dogs are seen inside rusted--some dilapidated--and overcrowded cages, with some only having their hind feet touching the ground. Those locked up alone in tiny cages can barely move nor can even stand up. Many look weak and undernourished.
Those dogs that are not anymore inside a cage are found lifeless in different situations: hanging in a market stall with the hook right through their mouth, being blowtorched and roasted to desired crispy perfection, getting chopped to have the choice parts and, at the end of it all, being served on a plate or in a bowl to hungry diners of all ages and groups.
Animal rights activists are visibly outraged by the state of these dogs and the awful fate which awaits them. Yulin residents, on the other hand, are invading restaurants with the aim to have a taste of the native delicacy, which is particularly popular this summer solstice.
Aside from the series of actual demonstrations, online protests erupted on Weibo and Twitter. Local and international celebrities also expressed their sentiments through their respective social media accounts.
Despite all of the public protests, online petitions and various outpouring of support, the Yulin Dog Meat Festival is still happening right now, and market vendors and restaurant owners are all smiles seeing the steady stream of customers.
