China's Activists Find A New Way To Prevent Dog Meat Sales

China's Activists Find A New Way To Prevent Dog Meat Sales

The war between the dog lover and the dog meat trade has been going on for quite some time. Many animal activists have repeatedly taken their marches, protests, petitions, and letters to the government for the ban on this trade, but this was to no avail.

Their pleas have been ignored for years, and the battle continues. This year, however, things have finally changed. When the outbreak of the highly infectious novel coronavirus was traced back to the animal “wet market” (the illegal trade of wildlife), the government finally listened. Initially, the government banned the trade of wildlife in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.

After a while, the Ministry of Agriculture in China finally took the decision to classify dogs as domestic animals and removed them off the list of being traded as livestock. This news had dog lovers rejoicing! Disappointingly, the annual Yulin dog meat festival still took place, but thankfully, it was reported to be significantly less popular than any year before!

Cynthia Zhang, a Guangzhou-based animal rights activist, voiced her relief on the action taken by higher authorities after the many years of struggle. She also said that the outbreak of the virus has provided the group an opportunity to push for as much legislation on animal rights as possible! As much as the novel coronavirus has impacted our lives in numerous ways, it has also provided an opportunity of hope for those who do not have a voice that can speak out for themselves!

Feature Image Source: Pixabay

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