The Yulin Dog Meat Festival, one of the most controversial and condemned festivals in the world, is set to begin again today. The annual festival, which always takes place around the summer solstace in the town of Yulin, China, will likely see thousands of dogs tortured, killed, and eaten for their meat.
Naturally, the festival has sparked outrage online, as well as condemnation from animal rights groups and celebrities.
Although most people in China are opposed to eating dog meat, dogs are still killed and eaten in the country far too often, with this festival in Yulin being the most hideous example.
However, some people are fighting back. The Humane Society recently reported that Chinese activists were able to rescue 62 dogs from Yulin, saving them from slaughter. And petitions to stop the festival have also been filed on Change.org.
Will this year be the last year for the violent dog meat festival in Yulin? 500K+ people have signed this petition to stop the event where thousands of dogs are killed and eaten. https://t.co/o9OtYGlrrW
— Change.org (@Change) June 20, 2019
Many celebrities have also spoken out against the festival, with Dame Judi Dench being the latest esteemed voice to call for an end to the festival, according to People. And according to the BBC, Fan Bingbing, one of the biggest celebrities in China, has also criticized the festival in prior years.
All these efforts appear to be paying off. According to the Humane Society, when the festival first began, around 15,000 dogs were killed. However, that number is slowly being driven down. They estimate that that figure has dropped to around 3,000 dogs, while Business Insider reported in 2015 that the number of dogs killed at that festival was around one thousand.
For more on this festival, you can watch this video from ABC News, although some of the footage may be disturbing.
[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/NjbWQAASPcs” description=”Yulin Dog Meat Festival” /]
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