China's Yulin Festival Gets Served Massive Blow - Cat And Dog Meat Banned

A victory was one for animal lovers everywhere when the government of Yulin, China, banned the sale of dog meat during the Yulin festival beginning the 15th of June.

For many, this news is long-awaited and has been in the making for several years, thanks to the effort and hard work of animal rights activists and countless protests over several years. China’s Duo Duo Project and the Humane Society International of the United Kingdom took part in the campaign for this move to be made and were part of these protests.

Despite this victory, many fear that the banning of the Yulin Dog Meat Festival is only temporary. The festival, which began in 2010, was created as a way to help declining sales within the dog meat trade, though it claims that it is a long-held tradition. As such, activists are not sure how long the festival will remain banned. However, they hope that this year’s ban will set off the start of the fall of the dog-meat trade in China.

Although a wide majority of China’s residents do not consume dog meat or take part in its trade, some small groups living in southern areas of the country and near the Korean border have driven the market to a point where 10-20 million dogs are killed annually to fuel it. Many of these dogs are stolen or kidnapped.

This ban may be but a small step in the long fight against China’s dog meat trade, but it certainly is a step in the right direction. Do like and share!