The squabbling continues on social media. The good, the bad, and the ugly of Yulin Dog Meat Festival is much debated by animal activists across the world. But nobody seems to have reached a consensus.

The long and short of it: Every year, China plays host to Yulin Dog Meat Festival, in which tens and thousands of dogs are butchered and eaten. This has invoked the wrath of mutt lovers across the world, who evidently see this as a parade of cruelty.

The ancient Chinese believed that the dog meat stimulates body heat and wards off winters’ cold. The meat is also believed to bring good luck.
The ancient Chinese believed that the dog meat stimulates body heat and wards off winters’ cold. The meat is also believed to bring good luck.

“The Chinese are heartless. They are slaughtering and eating man’s best friend,” the activists thundered. But this is only a half-truth. As sarcastic as it may sound, the Chinese do love their dogs— but they prefer them salted and sauted.

The cultural perception is pretty blatant here.

While the rest of the world shares an emotional bonding with dogs—making them a part of the family—China doesn’t.

To the Chinese, the four-legged furry creature is just another scrumptious dish to savor—like frog thighs or snake fries.

To them, the ten-day Yulin Dog Festival is a proud tradition, spanning over 400 years. The festival in June is a part of summer solstice. The ancient Chinese believed that the dog meat stimulates body heat and wards off winters’ cold. The meat is also believed to bring good luck.

Brought up among such folklores, is it right to blame the Chinese and ban their festival?

Rana Jen, a Chinese American, born and raised in the US, said: “Somehow, I cannot get myself to 100% unequivocally support the ban on dog meat and on the Yulin Festival. While I’m a dog lover who volunteers with the SPCA, I still feel that Chinese and others who eat dog meat have the right to do so. It’s a civil liberty.”

YouTube video

Keith Budd, who has spent more time in China, pointed out that the Western social media portrayal of the Yulin Dog Meat Festival is not accurate. “The breeds of dog people usually eat are not pet dogs, They are bred for eating just like a pig or a chicken. Please distinguish this from the festival in question, where many reports indicate that stolen pets end up on plates,” he said on Quora.

Budd added that eating dog is a rural practice in China, and is generally shunned by people who live in urban areas as a little backwards. “In fact, there are as many protests on Chinese social media about the dog eating festival as there are on Facebook, and they will likely be a lot more effective in changing attitudes towards it because they are in Chinese, and Facebook is banned in China anyway. As China develops, eating dog meat will likely be left behind like so many other ‘rural’ practices in modern China,” he said.

Charlie Li from China emphasized that the dogs are not tortured. “They put down dogs just as they put down sheep and cattle. Besides, when it comes to torture, the geese have a lot to complain. Pigs are  more intelligent than dogs, but that didn’t stop us from eating them but no one said a word. Cows are considered gods in India but the rest of the world had no trouble killing them and eating them. Most of my Chinese friends don’t eat dogs, but we respect the tradition of celebrating Yulin Dog Meat Festival. I have a dog now, my precious little baby Yorkie, but I wouldn’t go crazy on dog eaters,” he said.

These Instagram posts show the plight of dogs as well as other animals.

#Repost @jane_doe7x with @repostapp ・・・ What’s the difference between torturing and killing a dog, and torturing a killing a pig? Both are sentient animals, both exhibit intentional behaviours, both feel loving bonds, fear and pain. We grew up in a culture where we are thought to love one and eat the other. How many people are so enraged over the dog meat culture in China? But pay for cows, chickens and pigs to be relentlessly beaten, electrocuted, painfully gassed, decapitated while fully conscious, hoisted upside down in chains to have their throats cut open and sometimes even skinned alive? Understand that the rage you feel over dog meat, vegans feel on behalf of all animals. The way you want to protect dogs is the same way vegans want to protect all animals. How would you feel if you posted about the Yulin dog meat festival to spread awareness, and the very person who pays for their torturous deaths rocks up saying mmm dog meat? This is the bullshit vegan activists have to put up with non stop. The animals on your plate suffers unimaginable confinement, abuse and torture. They are literally tortured to death to become food you don’t even need. When will people understand that in suffering we are all equal. GO VEGAN ? #vegan #beef #steak #pork #bacon #meat #mcdonalds #burgerking #pizzahut #kfc #pepperoni #steakhouse #dogmeat #yulindogmeatfestival #notodogmeat #equality #janedoe7x #feminism #prolife #doglover #doglovers #animallovers #religion #christian #jamieoliver #recipe #foodshare #foodlover #fitnessfreak

A video posted by @they_call_me_future on

 

@Regrann from @life.decay – ?WARNING GRAPHIC? _____________________________________________ ?? Welcome to the Chinese tradition known as the ‘Yulin Dog Meat Festival’. _____________________________________________ ?? The Chinese people believe that dog meat consumption brings good luck and health. At the festival, dogs are killed with whatever means are are available. This includes bludgeoning, dissecting, skinning and boiling alive. Over 10,000 dogs will fall victim but we have a chance to be their voice. Please copy the link below and sign the petition to add your voice to the outrage. Enough is enough. https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-yulin-dog-meat-eating-festival #yulindogmeatfestival2016 #yulindogmeatfestival #yulin #china #dog #dogs #cats #pet #pets #petdog #food #dogfood #animal #animals #animalrights #animalcruelty #crueltyfree #cuteanimals #meat #meatismurder #stopthekilling #stopanimalabuse #stopanimalcruelty #alllivesmatter #vegan #vegans #veganlife #vegansofig #vegansofinstagram #lifedecay
A video posted by Nguyễn Quỳnh Chi (@chj_chan) on

That’s a Hero! – follow them – from @boaianimalcentre – We close slaughterhouse that had been open for 30 years, killing 10,000 dogs & supplying them to local restaurants. Dogs were saved too. See how our founder Du Yufeng is not afraid to stand up to these thugs. To see the full video (NO SCENES OF SLAUGHTER) go to- tinyurl.com/h6qxc3l See more videos and photos closing down slaughterhouses, restaurants & shops on our website- boaianimalcentre.weebly.com #dogmeatrade #dogmeatsurvivor #dogslaughter #dogs #dog #slaughter #traffickers #restaurant #underwaterphotography #hero #undercoverreporting #rescuedogsofinstagram #harassment #cowards #crueltyfree #brave #girlpower #china #chineseanimalactivists #yulinactivist #cat #yulindogmeatfestival #endyulinforever #bethechange

A video posted by Ina (@inajordanart) on

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