Lychee and Dog Meat Festival

Lychee and Dog Meat Festival
玉林荔枝狗肉节

A dog meat dish from Guilin, Guangxi, with the tail used as decoration.
Status Active
Genre Festival
Begins 21 June
Ends 30 June
Frequency Annually
Location(s) Yulin, Guangxi
Coordinates 22°38′N 110°09′E / 22.633°N 110.150°E / 22.633; 110.150Coordinates: 22°38′N 110°09′E / 22.633°N 110.150°E / 22.633; 110.150
Country China
Inaugurated 21 June 2009 (2009-06-21)[1]
Most recent 21 June 2015 (2015-06-21)
Previous event 2015
Next event 2016

Background

The tradition of dog meat consumption began over 400 years ago in China. Many believed that dog meat would help ward off the heat felt through the summer months. It wasn't until recent years where the festival in Yulin began. [2]

The festival is celebrated annually in Yulin, Guangxi, China, during the summer solstice in June, by eating dog meat and lychees.[3] About 10,000 to 15,000 dogs are consumed during the 10 days of the festival.[3][4] Throughout the 10 days of festivities dogs are paraded in wooden crates and metal cages and are taken to be skinned and burned for consumption of festival attendants and local residents.

In a 2014 statement released to Xinhua, Yulin's local government denies any official involvement or endorsement of the festival itself, and describes the event as a local custom observed by "a small percentage of Yulin's residents. They attribute the branding of the event to local businesses and residents.[5]

Animal welfare concerns

The local residents and festival organizers claim that the dogs are killed humanely[3] and that "eating dog is no different from eating pork or beef".[6] Campaigners have claimed, however, that the animals are "treated abominably", which is shown by the various photographs that have surfaced of the event.[7] Professor Peter J. Li has claimed that some of the dogs eaten are stolen household pets. [8]

Concerns over the preparation of the dogs have been fuelled by pictures that have circulated featuring two dogs in boiling water in China. It is claimed that this is because some Chinese prefer the taste of adrenaline-soaked meat. In some areas, dogs are beaten to death in order to release blood into the meat.[9]

Reactions

Domestic media

An editorial published by the People's Daily expressed the view that while activists understand dogs as "companion animals", neither the Chinese legal system or the current Chinese public moral standards recognize them with this special status. While noting the "duality" of dogs as both companions and food items, the editorial urges restraint in handling the issue and calls mutual understanding from both organizers and activists in reaching a respectful compromise.[10]

In his editorial for the Global Times, Shan Renping strongly criticized what he believed to be the Western obsession over the treatment of dogs, and cited bullfighting as an example of animal cruelty to which the West has turned a blind eye. He further categorised the controversy as a part of a Western campaign against China, and dismissed criticism and protests as "non-noteworthy".[11]

International media

In The Guardian, the philosopher Julian Baggini considered the hypocrisy of western meat-eaters being outraged by the Chinese eating "cute animals", commenting that "the double standards at play here are numerous, complicated, and not always obvious", and that "vegans are the only group who can oppose the festival without any fear of hypocrisy".[12]

Writing in The Independent, Ashitha Nagesh compared the festival with the 1.9 million animals "brutally slaughtered" in the UK every month, noting that "the western distinction between dogs and farm animals is completely arbitrary".[13]

In an interview with The New York Times, East Asian politics professor Peter J. Li noted that opposition to eating dog meat at the festival began with the Chinese themselves, as "the bond between companion animals and humans is not Western. It's a transcultural phenomenon".[14]

Public

A retired school teacher, Yang Xiaoyun, paid ¥150,000 to rescue 360 dogs and tens of cats from the festival in 2014, and ¥7,000 to rescue 100 dogs in 2015.[15][16]

In June 2015, an online petition against the festival was started in the United Kingdom, gathering over 4 million signatures.[6]

Chinese celebrities such as Chen Kun, Yang Mi, and Fan Bingbing, as well as western celebrities including Ricky Gervais, Ian Somerhalder, Leona Lewis, Lori Alan, and Tom Kenny have publicly expressed a distaste for the festival.[3][15][17][18] In October 2015, a protest march organized by TV personality Lisa Vanderpump and Sharon Osbourne took place from MacArthur Park to the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles.[19]

Social Media

Social Media campaigns have had a significant impact on spreading awareness of the festival around the globe. Many activist and public figures take to twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and have created hashtags such as #stopyulinforver #stopyulin2015 and #stopyulin2016 to spread the word. Because of the the social media campaigns the number of dogs slaughtered have steadily decreased since 2013 from over 10,000 to 1,000.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Friend or food? Dog meat trade divides China". CNN. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "China Yulin dog meat festival under way despite outrage - BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "China Yulin dog meat festival under way despite outrage". BBC News. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "Tasteless? Food festival in Yulin, China celebrates canine culinary culture – with 15,000 dogs on the menu". Daily Mail (London). 28 June 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  5. ↑ "玉林市政府就网络上所谓"夏至荔枝狗肉节"作出回应". China Daily. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Dog Meat Festival Faces Social Media Backlash". Sky News. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Dog-lovers v dog-eaters: Pet food". The Economist. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  8. ↑ O'Neil, Lauren (22 June 2015). "Dog meat festival in China takes place despite massive online protest". CBC News. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  9. ↑ Cooper, Rob (25 Jun 2012). "Dogs destined for the table: Horrific images show animals being killed, cooked and served up as a meal in Chinese tradition". Daily Mail. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "人民日报评"狗肉节之争"：从两件小事看玉林口水仗". People's Daily. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "单仁平：玉林狗肉节——中国平静时，西方来劲了". Global Times. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  12. ↑ Baggini, Julian (22 June 2015). "Is it OK to eat dogs?". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  13. ↑ Nagesh, Ashitha (22 June 2015). "Protest against the Yulin dog meat festival, but don't forget the 1.9m animals brutally slaughtered in the UK every month". The Independent. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  14. ↑ Huang, Shaojie (18 June 2015). "Q. and A.: Peter J. Li on the Clash Over Eating Dogs in China". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  15. 1 2 You, Tracy; Danby, Poppy (18 June 2015). "The heroic woman who is trying to save hundreds of dogs from the dinner plate at China's barbaric annual 'meat festival'". Daily Mail. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  16. ↑ "Chinese woman pays to rescue 100 dogs from meat festival: report". The Straits Times. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  17. ↑ de Cadenet, Julia (19 June 2015). "Yulin Dog Meat Torture Festival Will Go Ahead Despite Celebrity Pleas". The Huffington Post United Kingdom (AOL (UK) Limited). Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  18. ↑ "Celebrities join campaign to stop dog meat festival in China". AsiaOne (Singapore Press Holdings Ltd . Co.). 18 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  19. ↑ Larkin, Mike (5 October 2015). "Real Housewives unleashed! Lisa Vanderpump and Kyle Richards lead way as ladies appear at Stop Yulin dog walk protest". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  20. ↑ "This Chinese dog-eating festival's days are numbered thanks to a massive social media campaign". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
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