China’s dog-meat festival opens for potentially the last time

Campaigners hope that the event – drastically scaled back this year – will soon be banned altogether

A dog-meat festival in China has opened despite the government’s recent classification of the animals as pets rather than livestock, with campaigners hoping this year will be the event’s last.

The annual 10-day fair in Yulin, a city in southwest China, was first held in 2009 to mark the summer solstice.

As well as dog meat, which is thought by some to bring luck and good health if eaten in the summer, cat meat, fresh lychees and liquor are also sold at the fair.

Controversy surrounds the festival both within China and internationally, as activists say that some of the animals are slaughtered inhumanely and that the event does not meet the country’s hygiene standards. They also complain that dogs are brought to the city in cramped conditions.

According to the World Health Organisation, the dog trade also poses health risks by spreading rabies and increasing the chance of cholera.

Campaigners say the number of dogs who are displayed to customers in cramped cages during the festival has fallen this year.

Peter Li, China policy specialist with the Humane Society International, an animal rights group, said: “Momentum is building in China to tackle the dog and cat meat trades, and while I don’t think anyone expects Yulin’s dog meat trade to close up overnight, what the activists witnessed could indicate that things are shifting even in Yulin.”

He added: “I do hope Yulin will change not only for the sake of the animals, but also for the health and safety of its people.”

The national government is currently drafting new laws to ban the wildlife trade, following the coronavirus outbreak, which is thought to have started in a market in the city of Wuhan.

The agriculture ministry recently said dogs are now classified as pets rather than livestock.

In April, the city of Shenzhen became the first in China to ban the consumption of dogs, with more likely to follow suit.

Zhang Qianqian, an animal rights activist who was in Yulin on Saturday, said she thought the festival would be banned in the future.

She said: “From what we understand from our conversations with meat sellers, leaders have said the consumption of dog meat won’t be allowed in future. But banning dog-meat consumption is going to be hard and will take some time.”

During China’s Cultural Revolution, people were prohibited from keeping dogs as pets. Now, the country has 62 million dogs registered as pets.