Dog-Meat Festival to start in Yulin, China on 21st of June

Warning: Information About Animal Cruelty

Is there humanity left in this world? This question is asked, when it comes to the Yulin Dog-Meat Festival. It is when the dog traders’ in Yulin stand fulfilled in hopes to make a big trade on this so called festival. They are happy, that their profession would achieve a great boost once this festival gets successful. This festival of cries, cruelty and massive killing of dogs for food by the traders is condemnable. More than 10,000 dogs are going to be slaughtered in the two day festival. 

Few dogs are sold by dog owners, while large number of dogs are picked up from the streets and are stolen from families. This is done, explaining how such activities of creating slaughter house of the entire Yulin, is good for the health and luck of the city and its people. This act is simply the description of, ‘sadness due to helplessness’.  The Chinese Government says that, this act isn’t to do anything with them. Due to this, the organizers are even encouraged to keep the thoughts behind the festival alive.

The inhuman behaviour started off in 2009 and has been continuing since then. The people, who actively participate in the killing of dogs and their trade, defend themselves in many ways. 

Saying that, dog meat warms the body and acts as a tonic doesn’t justify the idea of the festival. Rather the inhuman act, can’t find any justifications and the Chinese government should step in, to put end to such practices. 

The topic of dog-trade in Yulin got worldwide attention after online portals and newspapers covered the story about it. Many celebrities like Ricky Gervais took the lead and gave all of their cooperation to this cause. Be it through the spreading of awareness over this grave issue through social media, or pressurising the Chinese government to stop this killing. An online petition has been filed where 15 lakh signatures have been received till now. 

 The dogs were packed in trucks from different places, including Vietnam. The journey from different places took days to reach Yulin. In these circumstances, the dogs bit one another after being open to fright and fear. Terrified dogs even caused one another injuries that were really shocking.  They were kept in wired cages later on, where chickens are otherwise kept. With the cages being so small, the dogs at times broke their bones and were left to die in suffocation. The traders had even surprising interests behind this scene of brutality. They felt that the taste of dogs got better, if they were prone to such torture and fright. 

For instance a dog is an intelligent animal, who knows what would happen to its state after watching the other dogs being brutally killed. Either their throats were slit or they were put into boiling water when they were still alive. Their carcasses were later cleaned and hung over in shops in the streets of Yulin, and put on sale. The dog trade in China is otherwise permitted and to have a festival in addition to it is a heinous attempt to dwindle the sentiments of humanity. If it’s not stopped now, then such festivals may start in other places as well.  

Many activists from the animal rights organizations blocked the trucks that consisted of dogs which were to be brought to Yulin. In the last few months, thousands of activists of Humane Society International took part in rescuing the dogs from these trucks. Out of the 23 attempts made by them, 18 trucks carrying over 9,000 dogs were successfully saved. The activists had to pay to free the dogs, for the amount that was asked from the truck drivers. Many individuals came out to buy as many dogs as they could, in order to save the precious souls. Reports found that, the dogs were brutally beaten before being butchered, sometimes butchered to death. 

The Yulin-Dog Killing Festival is to be held on the 21^st and 22^nd of June, this year. It should be stopped, as it is against the notion of love and care for life. 

Gagandeep Singh Vaid