The Dog Meat Festival will be back in the title on 21 June 2018. Based on its history, this festival will be held for 10 days.
Here I summarize a number of facts about dog meat festivals in Yulin, China.
The annual festival since 2009
This festival has been started since 2009. But began to get widespread attention in 2010. The location of his show in Yulin City, which entered the region of Guangxi, a province in the south of China.
The opening of the festival begins every June 21, to welcome the coming of summer. It is estimated that about 10-15 thousand dogs and cats are consumed during the festival.
Eat a legal dog in China
Referring to the Xinhua report (h / t BBC), eating dogs has become a tradition in China, and a number of other East Asian countries, from 400 to 500 years ago. Eating dog meat is said to help humans face hot air, especially in summer.
In China buying and selling dog meat is an ordinary matter. Within a year it is estimated that about 10 million dogs are killed to meet the demands of Chinese citizens.
Chinese people tend to reject festivals
Although dog feeding is a common case, festivals in Yulin tend to be rejected.
Xinhuapernah published the results of a poll on the festival of dog meat. The result is that 64 percent of respondents - aged 16-50 years - support the closing of the festival forever.
Another interesting finding is that 51.7 percent of respondents want the dog meat trade to be completely prohibited. Even about 69.5 percent claimed to have never eaten dogs. It should also be noted that the poll also involved Yulin residents.
"It is a shame for us (Chinese) that the world misunderstand and regard the brutal Yulin festival as a part of Chinese culture," Qin Xiaona, an animal lover activist, said in the poll.
The Yulin government confessed that they did not give official support to the festival. According to them, the idea and organization of the event was conducted by private parties.
Disclaimer extends
A common argument in refusing to eat dog meat is the view that dogs are pets, not cattle that are consumable.
Especially the dog meat festival in Yulin, the argument of rejection can be seen in Stop Yulin Forever, the campaign site against the festival. Among other things about dog health, as well as how to slaughter the disgraceful.
Referring to the site, the dogs that were butchered, was not only from Yulin. Dogs are also imported from other areas. The animals had to travel for hundreds of miles, crammed into cages, lacking food and drink.
Arriving at Yulin, the dogs were already malnourished, dehydrated, even dead. The process of slaughtering the dog was often accused of not according to the standards, the ways of reproach with hit or poison still done. As for the buyers tend not to be confident with the above background.
At Change.org, there are a number of petitions voicing rejection of this fetival. Some of them have raised millions of support. For example, the petition entitled "Stop the Dog Meat Eating Festival in Yulin" which has collected 4.6 million signatures.
"This festival raises the abduction of stray dogs and pets, and increases the inhumane capture and torture in dog farms," the petition quoted him as saying.
Rejection also comes from celebrities. As reported by Asia One, Singers Leona Lewis and Richard Marx, since last year have faithfully voiced "Stop Yullin" on their social media channels.
Dog rescue effort
The rejection of the dog massacre at the festival is also widespread in the form of philanthropic initiatives.
As do women named, Yang Xiaoyun (65). In 2014, he pays 150 thousand yuan ($ 300,000) to save 360 dogs and cats from this festival. The same thing again done in 2015, saving about 100 dogs, with a capital of about 50 thousand yuan (about Rp100 million).
Similar activities conducted by activist from the United States, Marc Ching. He traveled to Yulin ahead of the festival, to visit the slaughterhouses and rescue the dogs from the massacre. So far he has saved about 1,000 dogs.
As Mashable reported, in some cases, Ching came to the slaughterhouse and acted as a buyer. He bought hundreds of dogs, and sent him to the US for rehab.
Alternatively, Ching persuaded the slaughterhouse owner to leave his business, with a turnover offer to start a new business.