Every year, to mark the summer solstice, thousands of dogs and cats are brutally killed for the Yulin dog meat Festival in China’s southern Guangxi province.
According to official statistics, 10,000 dogs and almost 4,000 cats will be served up with lychee by locals and traders who consider their meat a delicacy.
But in reality, Chinese animal rights associations estimate that around 40,000 dogs and 10,000 cats are killed.
The ultimate horror of the situation is that the majority of dogs slaughtered in the annual massacre are stolen from their beloved humans.
Breeding dogs for meat consumption is rare due to the cost of keeping them alive and healthy, so instead, the streets are filled with pets still wearing their collars.
The terrified animals are then transported hundreds of miles, rammed into tiny cages with no food or water, let alone any space to move.
Contrary to popular belief, the Yulin Festival is not an ancient tradition.
Started in 2009 by the city’s dog meat traders, the vendors see the animals as pure money-making machines and therefore kill the dogs in the most barbaric ways.
The dogs are electrocuted, burned and skinned alive, believing that the adrenaline caused by fear and pain makes their meat taste better.
Unsurprisingly, there has been immense pressure from animal rights activists worldwide to shut down the cruel and inhumane festival.
Since 2014, the local government has distanced itself from the event, removing sponsorship in an attempt to scale back the public’s attention on the festival.
But the Yulin festival still goes on behind closed doors.
Over recent years, the consumption of dog meat in China has become more and more outdated as the popularity of pet dogs increases.
Whilst the country still eats the most dog meat in the world, killing around 20 million dogs each year, the Chinese authorities are slowly realising how badly the dog meat trade is affecting their global image.
For the younger generation in China, who are heavily influenced by the West, dogs and cats are first and foremost seen as pets. It is therefore considered a shocking and cruel practice to eat them.
Millions of Chinese citizens support legislation to ban the dog meat industry, so it is hoped that the cruel trade will fall into decline over the next few decades.
Over 4,000,000 signatures to ban this practice once and for all
On June 21, thousands of dogs and cats will be brutally slaughtered in Yulin. So today, we’re calling for your help.
To help put an end to the Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016, put pressure on the Chinese government by signing this petition here.
Over 4,000,000 people have added their names already.
To help put an end to the Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2016, put pressure on the Chinese government by signing this petition:
https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-yulin-dog-meat-eating-festival
No comments:
Post a Comment