The Yulin “festival” is just a commercial operation.As well as cruelty

The dog meat “festival” began in Yulin, China on June 21st.Fortunately, the number of citizens who consume it is decreasing.

It's not a tradition.The Yulin “festival”. it finds no justification as a traditional Chinese event and even if it were, it would be impossible to condone the brutal cruelty of which it is guilty every year.It is actually a commercial operation set up in 2010 by dog meat sellers, with the aim of counteracting the decline in sales recorded at the time - without success.

Despite these efforts to promote the consumption of dog meat, surveys reveal that, in Yulin itself, the 75 percent of the inhabitants does not regularly eat dog meat.At the first edition of the event, it is estimated that they were 15 thousand dogs killed, a figure that has been reduced to three thousand thanks to the pressure exerted by the Chinese population first and foremost, but also by numerous actions and voices at an international level.

Yulin, the work of Humane Society International

One of them is Humane Society International (HSI) which has been working concretely for years to stop the trade in dog and cat meat in Asia which, according to our estimates, involves thirty million dogs and ten million cats.Although China has introduced strong legal restrictions on the reach of foreign NGOs like HSI, we continue to have a presence on the ground through our unstoppable Chinese partners and activists.On the eve of the infamous demonstration, they rescued 386 dogs.On the highway towards Yulin, they spotted a truck transporting them, crammed into small metal cages, in the suffocating heat and, thanks to the fundamental intervention of the local Shaanxi police, they blocked it, allowing all the animals to be saved.

Many are in poor physical condition with eye infections and skin problems.The activist Lin Xiong, present on site, told us about the horror he witnessed:hungry, dehydrated, visibly sick dogs with faces petrified with fear;he called it “a truck from hell.”Now, together with our partner refuge Vshine and other facilities, we will take care of them, but the road to recovery will not be easy.The deepest wounds are those linked to the trauma of capture and transportation.As my colleague points out Peter Li, a specialist in Chinese politics from Hsi, the Yulin “festival” is an example of the dog meat trade that takes place every day in China, fueled largely by dog thieves who take animals from the streets and yards;many of the 386 rescued were wearing collars.

Increases awareness of the Chinese population

The collaboration between activists and the police, which made it possible to change the fate of these 386 animals - a figure that does not come remotely close to the total number of dogs that will have been killed at the end of the "festival" - demonstrates that a growing part of the population Chinese wants put an end to the dog meat trade.Most people in China do not eat dogs routinely.In fact, dog meat is only rarely consumed since 20 percent of Chinese.

At the national level, a survey conducted by the Chinese company Horizon and commissioned by the China Animal Welfare Association in collaboration with Humane Society International and Avaaz, revealed that the majority of Chinese citizens (64 percent) want the Yulin "festival" to be stopped and more than half (51.7 percent) believe that the dog meat trade should be completely banned.The activists' position is clear:“If all law enforcement agencies in China followed an a zero tolerance against dog traffickers, it would be the end of the dog trade.The massacre linked to the consumption of dog meat brings shame to our country and therefore we will continue to fight until we see an end to this suffering."

Positive signals are also coming from other parts of Asia, where there is more or less widespread consumption of dog and cat meat and where Hsi works to combat it.

• In South Korea There are 17 meat dog farms that HSI has closed since 2015, saving over 2,500 animals who have found loving homes in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.THE polls Opinions show that the majority of Koreans (84 percent) do not consume dog meat or intend to do so in the future, and a government task force is currently discussing a ban with President Yoon Suk-yeol and the first lady Kim Keon-hee, in favor of ending this practice.
• In Indonesia, seconds i polls, the vast majority of the population does not eat dogs.In fact, only 4.5 percent do, and 93 percent of Indonesians support a nationwide ban.
• Dog meat is prohibited Hong Kong, Singapore, in Taiwan, Thailand, in Philippines, as well as in the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai, Siem Reap province in Cambodia, and five cities and regencies in Indonesia.

Change is possible

The work of Humane Society International demonstrates that to bring about real change you cannot generalize and point the finger at Asia.It is necessary to work together, bringing proposals and concrete help, educating and supporting activists and authorities.But also people for whom the dog meat trade is a source of income.For example, our program in South Korea, which has allowed us to close numerous farms, helps farmers transition to alternative livelihoods, respectful of animals and more profitable, like the cultivation of chili pepper plants or the distribution of water tanks.

Most of the breeders Hsi worked with experienced increasing familial, social and financial pressure to cease dog breeding activities.Furthermore, thanks to the growing sensitivity to animal welfare and beyond six million pet dogs in Korean homes, the demand for dog meat is constantly decreasing.We are confident that China is also on this path.