Activists attempt to stop notorious dog meat festival in Yulin

World Today

Tuesday marks the controversial annual dog meat festival in Yulin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region.

Meanwhile, animal welfare activists from all over China have gathered in the city, attempting to stop the festival.

CCTV’s Jiang Shaoyi reports.

It is the annual dog meat festival in Yulin, but not all are celebrating. Animal campaigners and dog lovers from across the nation gathered in Yulin on Monday in an attempt to stop the event.

Hundreds of dogs are slaughtered in the Chinese city every year during the festival, and it is getting more controversial each year.

A recent online poll by a Chinese animal rights group showed 64 percent of participants supporting the ending of the festival.

More than half believe the trade should be banned. However locals have a different opinion – they think the outsiders are trying to ruin their tradition.

The tradition of eating dog meat dates back four or five hundred years in China, South Korea and other countries.