An annual Chinese dog meat festival kicked off earlier than usual this year – in an attempt to deflect attention from the media and animal rights protesters.
The event celebrates the summer solstice and saw residents in the southern city of Yulin begin gathering a week early.
According to tradition, the consumption of dog meat, lychees and alcohol ensures health throughout the winter months.
dog meat festival
Around 10,000 dogs are to be slaughtered during the festival
Around 10,000 dogs are thought to have been slaughtered during last year’s festival and estimates are similar for this year.
The animals are crammed into wire cages, piled onto trucks and sent on gruelling sometimes week-long journeys.
Many don’t survive, succumbing to shock, starvation and dehydration. Those who do – often with broken bones – are dispatched to slaughterhouses as soon as they arrive.
They are then bludgeoned to death, drained of blood and thrown into a machine to remove their hair.
Then they are disembowelled and soaked in liquid to bloat their bodies – a measure taken to make them look fatter and command higher prices as many of the dogs are emaciated by the time they reach the slaughterhouses.
dog meat festival
Dog meat is considered a delicacy in some parts of China
Animal rights activists say as well as being cruel, the event is a public health risk as there are no measures in place to ensure the dogs are disease free.
Deng Yidan, an activist with Animals Asia says the public backlash is hurting Yulin and China.
In comments reported by the Guardian, he said: “Negative coverage is growing – dog theft, criminal activities, food hygiene issues and rabies fears – not to mention the division in society between those for and against the festival – together these have brought significantly more negative publicity to Yulin than economic benefits.”Continued