Yulin Government | STOP ANIMAL ABUSE

By TRACY YOU FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 11:16, 10 June 2016 | UPDATED: 19:24, 10 June 2016

“Nobody will die if dog & cat are taken off the menu!!!”

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Around 30 animal campaigners carried out the protest today in bid to stop Yulin dog meat festival in China
The controversial festival sees as many as 10,000 animals butchered and eaten on summer solstice
A petition signed by over 11 million people has been submitted to the authority, animal charity claimed
During the event, activists called Yulin in rural Guangxi Province a ‘scumbag’ and ‘a total embarrassment’ to China

A group of animal activists staged a protest today in Beijing in a bid to stop a Chinese dog-eating festival set to occur later this month.

This must stop: A group of around 30 animal activists staged a protest today in Beijing in a bid to stop the Yulin dog meat festival

The demonstration, initiated by three animal protection groups, submitted a petition allegedly signed by over 11 million people, calling on the Chinese authorities to end the Yulin dog meat festival.

The annual festival, which takes place in south China’s Guangxi Province, sees tens of thousands of animals beaten to death, cooked and sold on the market to celebrate summer solstice.

Around 30 activists carried out the protest outside of the Yulin government office as the petition was presented to the authority by three animal charities: Humane Society International, VShine and Beijing Mothers Against Animal Cruelty.

Pictures from today’s event show animal campaigners, many of whom brought their own pet dogs, holding signs saying ‘Scumbag of China’ in English and ‘Shame on Yulin’ in Simplified Chinese.

Wendy Higgins, the Director of International Media at Humane Society International, said over 11 million signatures had been collected worldwide through the internet to demand the festival to stop.

The petition also included signatures gathered by four other international animal welfare organisations. They are RaiseURPaw in Canada as well as the Duo Duo Project, Care2 and Avaaz from the United States.

The petition has been accepted by officials from the Yulin government in Beijing, according to Ms Higgins.

Peter Li, the China Policy Expert at Humane Society International, attended the protest in Beijing today.

Mr Li told MailOnline:

‘There was a huge presence of police, but our hand-in went very peacefully. It was a great feeling to join with our Chinese partner group activists in Beijing today, there was a tremendous sense of determination to get our voices heard to the global media, and to let the world know that many people across China want the brutal Yulin dog meat festival shut down.

He added: ‘We gave a show of strength and defiance against the dog thieves and the blatant animal cruelty, to say loudly – you will not steal our best friends!

‘I hope that the authorities listen, they really should do as the strength of public upset about Yulin and the trade here in China is really growing.

‘Next stop for me is Yulin, where I have been a number of times before, for the grim task of visiting the slaughterhouses before the festival starts.’

329f258d00000578-0-image-a-62_1465547648595 Sickening feast: Residents in Yulin tucked in their dinner made with dog meat during last year’s festival. Many of the animals, which were caged and beaten before being slaughtered, are thought to be stolen pets!

Xu Yufeng, founder of Beijing Mothers Against Animal Cruelty who were also present at the protest, said: ‘Yulin is a total embarrassment to China.

‘Its failure to stop mass dog slaughter and mass dog consumption shows that the local authorities are not doing their job to protect the people, especially young children.

‘We urge the Yulin authorities to stand on the right side of history and to end the “festival” in the interests of public security, food safety, social morality and China’s reputation.’

Another member of the protesters, Pan Danyang from China-based small animal protection group VShine, said:

‘This is the third year of our participation in the nation-wide campaign against the Yulin dog meat festival. ‘Since we have over the last few years helped accommodate dogs rescued from the dog meat trade, we know Yulin’s dog meat market relies on dogs from suspicious sources. ‘I hope that Yulin authorities will take actions to stop the dog trucks from going into their city so that the mass slaughter on the summer solstice day won’t happen.’

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Visitors play with rescued dogs at a shelter ran by Yang Xiaoyun in Tianjin, China, July 8, 2015. Yang said she spent 300,000 RMB (48,248 USD) to purchase 500 dogs to rescue them from dog meat dealers at Yulin’s annual dog meat festival last month. She keeps more than 1,000 dogs in her shelters, mostly abandoned or she purchased from dog meat traders. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

To learn more & signn other petitions, please visit the following, just a handful of sites that contain very informative material:-