by J. Lee

The 2017 China Lychee and Dog Meat Festival began on June 21st and ends on June 30th.

The festival is not officially recognized by the government, but many see their silence as a sign of consent. Promoters justify the event by saying dogs eaten in the summer keeps the consumer healthy and it keeps summer heat at bay.

The Independent:  Yulin Dog Meat Festival – “The Yulin “Lychee and Dog Meat” festival is an annual 10 day event where over 10,000 dogs are eaten. Cat meat, fresh lychees and liquor are also available at the festival.”

“The Lychee and Dog Meat Festival, commonly referred to as Yulin Dog Meat Festival, is an annual celebration held in Yulin, Guangxi, China, during the summer solstice in which festival goers eat dog meat and lychees. Lychee is the sole member of the genus Litchi in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. It is a tropical tree native to the Guangdong and Fujian provinces of China, where cultivation is documented from 1059 AD.”

Animal suffering exists within the cat and dog meat trade in countries including China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam, India, Indonesia and New Zealand.

Within the dog meat trade, stray dogs are rounded up. Many dogs are stolen family pets. Undercover video show many of them still wearing their collars. Once caught, they are put in to tiny cramped cages with other dogs. Stray cats, some of which are also family pets are captured.

In May 2017, activists claimed that the festival would cease. Unfortunately that wasn’t true even though the ‘The Stop Yulin‘ petition on Change.org has over 2.7 million signatures.

Some cultures think abusing dogs and cats make them more valuable to the consumer. They are beaten and killed using barbaric methods such as with iron rods. Many animals are skinned alive and hung on hooks.

Chinese Dog Meat Festival | Undercover Cameras Reveal Brutality; Video published on Jun 22, 2016 – Activists use undercover cameras to capture brutality ahead of 10-day event.

sdnews reports:

“Over the past two years, San Diego Humane Society has assisted in rescuing 400 chinchillas, 136 hoarded rabbits and 78 dogs, 75 Korean dogs and most recently, 26 dogs from the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China. A Special Response Team comprising specially trained San Diego Humane Society staff, Animal Rescue Reserve volunteers and humane law officers makes it possible to quickly respond to rescuing animals from inhumane conditions in San Diego County and across the U.S.”      

Thanks to groups like Humane Society International,  Free Korean Dogs, Animal Hope and Wellness, Pet360 and other wonderful rescue groups, abuses are being addressed. The goal for rescued dogs is to give them the opportunity for adoption into loving homes. Considering how horrible the fate is for some dogs, now there has finally been hope provided for others.

We can never give up our outcry to stop this brutal festival!