Yulin’s dog meat festival goes ahead
Print Edition
THE festival, which is held on the summer solstice, the longest day in the Chinese lunar calendar, puts Yulin, a city with a population of 600,000 in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in the international media spotlight every June.
Previous reports said local authorities would ban the festival, but Yulin’s publicity department denied any such plan. They said they had never issued a ban because the festival is not organized by the local government, but is a folk custom.
Dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Yulin residents ate dog meat with lychees and rice wine at summer solstice, believing the practice would strengthen their physique.
The festival, bombarded by animal rights activists and dog lovers for a number of years, was quieter than usual this time.
Bloody scenes of dogs being butchered in the road have disappeared, and some stores and restaurants have covered up any mention of dogs on their lists and menus.
However, at the city’s Dongkou market, where most of the dog meat trade takes place, dogs could be seen chained up or in cages while meat hung from booths.
“The price of dog meat is higher over last year,” said a seller surnamed Zhao. He said half a kilogram was selling for around 27 yuan (US$4).
The director of the “Best Volunteer Center,” an animal rights organization, told reporters that supplies of dog meat this year were lower than before, which led to increased prices.
“I know it is a local custom,” the director, who identified herself only as Xiao, said, “but I hope our protests can push the local government to increase efforts to discourage the eating of dog meat.” She visits the festival every year to protest.
Although the celebratory air was somewhat diluted this year, the festival still triggered a huge backlash among animal welfare groups and pet owners.
An animal rights activist who goes by the online name of Dongsheng told reporters that he and other dog lovers blocked a truck loaded with dogs from leaving Baiyun District in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province, on Monday.
He said the truck looked suspicious as it was carrying more than 1,000 dogs. Many were breeds usually kept as pets such as German shepherds and Pekingese. The driver did not say where the dogs were from, he said.
“We suspected that the truck was destined for Yulin to supply the festival market, and that many of the dogs were stolen pets.”
Guangdong police and animal quarantine departments have helped the activists find shelters for the dogs.
Sellers in Yulin said dog meat is usually purchased from rural areas in central China’s Hubei Province, east China’s Anhui Province and northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, as there are not enough dog farms in Yulin to meet demand.
Dongsheng said the custom of eating dog is not only offensive to dog lovers, but also encourages the theft of pets.
“I know it came from local customs, but the tradition does not match with the current level of social development and should be discarded. Dogs are not for eating,” he said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
